Surviving Without Hope
by JesusFreak10110
Summary: In the sequel to Never Lose Hope, the gang finds themselves faced with many new challanges. Will they survive without the Hope they all came to know and love? Will the wizards lose their hope in winning the war when Voldemort comes back with a vengence?
1. Chapter One: Home

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter One: Home

Hope rolled out of bed, giving up on sleep, and walked over to the balcony of her room. Two weeks had passed since that dreadful night when Hope and her boyfriend Harry had been kidnapped by a friend who was working for the Dark Lord. While everything had ended up turning out okay, Hope was still haunted with the nightmares.

She was leaning against the wall of her balcony, letting her mind wander, when a voice pulled her from her memories.

"Having problems sleeping too?" Harry asked her from the door leading out.

Hope nodded, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to hide the shivers. Harry gave her a look of sympathy before joining her.

"I close my eyes and I see you being thrown into the lake. Or I see you breaking down in the cell. Or those hours before you got there when I was the focus of their wrath. Dreams without those scenes aren't easy to come by."

Hope nodded and watched as her boyfriend came over to her, mentally preparing herself for his touch. She saw the look on his face before he sighed and stepped away again.

"I don't understand, Hope. What happened in those ten or twenty minutes that makes you afraid of me?" Harry asked frustrated.

"Harry, it's not what happened then," Hope answered, exasperated. "It's the memories of the time before. Every time any of them touched me, it wasn't gentle. I think I'm going to get hit or a curse thrown at me," she finished in a whisper, looking at the ground below.

"So let us help you. Talk about it. You've done nothing but push us away, and none of us know how to help you."

Hope shook her head and walked away from him, back into her room. She sat down on her bed and pulled out a black notebook that showed wear and set it down in front of her.

"This is an account of everything that's happened since I got it from Severus, back when I was being held hostage. Notice how many pages it has," she said, flipping to the back. She had numbered every single page that was in there. He sat down next to her and looked at the page number, 198.

"That much has gone wrong since last summer?" He asked Hope quietly.

"No," she answered, flipping through the book again. "I write everything down. Good, bad, interesting or boring. This is my life since Voldemort kidnapped me. Everything that has happened is tied together. Take out one page, and nothing else makes sense. Do you know how long it would take to explain everything to you guys so it makes sense?"

Harry sighed and closed the diary before putting it on the table. He turned and cupped Hope's face, forcing her to look at him. "Hope, we don't want to know everything. I don't even want to understand. I want to see your beautiful smile again, and that's not going to happen until after you let go and talk to us."

Hope closed her eyes against the tears and pulled away from him. "I can't Harry. Not yet. Please, just leave me alone."

Harry sighed before complying and leaving the room and closing her door. He stood outside long enough to hear her crying before walking away, his heart breaking as he did.

* * *

Hope wearily trudged down the stairs in blue jeans and an overgrown sweater. She was already late for breakfast, but she couldn't force herself to care.

She sat down and the food was served by the house elves. After starting their meal, Severus shot a question at her.

"Oversleep this morning?"

"Something like that..." Hope mumbled to herself, not looking at the older man.

Severus frowned before finishing his food. He watched as his daughter pushed food around on her plate before standing up and walking outside. She had developed a habit of going into the woods where nobody could find her, only to appear hours later.

Everyone else finished their food in silence before getting up to do different activities. Harry and Draco went outside to play quidditch, while Severus went to brew some potions.

Two hours later when Hope returned, he set aside his ingredients and went to meet up with his daughter. He saw her already halfway up the stairs.

"Hope?" He called out, catching her attention.

She slowly turned around, eyes red and puffy. Severus went up the stairs and motioned for her to follow him. Once in his room, he led her over to the bed, where she sat and remained silent.

"Hope, talk to me. You were so different when you woke up, and now that you've had time to think, you're withdrawing. I saw what you went through, I know what it was like. Please, tell me why your reacting how you did after you escaped Voldemort the first time."

"You don't want much do you..." Hope muttered.

"No, I don't," he said sternly, causing her to look up. "I want your trust. Only you're too afraid to give it to me."

"That's not true...it just wouldn't make sense...it doesn't even make sense to me."

"Let me figure it out, Lea. You just have to tell me why."

"It brought back memories, memories I wish would've stayed hidden. They haunt me, you know?"

"I know, Hope, but talking about them helps the pain to lessen."

"Merlin, get off this talking thing. Talking won't undo what happened, Severus. Talking about it won't make the nightmares go away. You want to know why? Because it happened, and nothing you do can change it. That stupid prat got to me again, and because of it, I have to live with it."

Severus pulled the girl into a hug, ignoring it when she stiffened. Eventually she relaxed and he felt her tears against his shirt. He just pulled her closer until eventually she stopped crying and fell asleep.

* * *

A loud crash awoke Hope an hour later. She opened her eyes and noticed she wasn't in her own room, but her father's. Standing up and wishing whatever had crashed could've waited a few hours, she opened the door. What she saw immediately made her smile.

Draco and Harry were in the hallway wrestling, and had just knocked over the vase on the table. Severus came running up the stairs and stopped at the sight, fury evident on his face.

"Have the two of you gone mental? Hope is in that room right there sleeping, and Merlin himself knows she needs the sleep more than anyone. Yet you two dunderheads are trying to wake her up. Go outside if you must, but be quiet!"

"Actually, I'm already awake. Thanks for the thought though," Hope said, making both boys look sympathetic.

"I'm sorry, Hope," Draco said.

"Me too," Harry echoed.

"It was time for me to get up anyway. Let's go eat lunch." Everyone looked at her like she was crazy before shrugging and following her down.

After lunch, they all went into the parlor and talked strategy. Training was going to have to be picked back up, both magical and physical. Occlumency would be a key point in the war, and since neither teens had mastered it, practice would be occuring every other morning for an hour. Then after all that, they would pick out the spells to finally rid the world of Voldemort and his followers once and for all.

It was going to be a long summer.

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A/N: Hey Ya'll! Here's the start to the sequel. Let me know what you think.

Kayla


	2. Chapter Two: Practice Makes Perfect

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter Two: Practice Makes Perfect

"This is hopeless!" Hermione screamed as she threw the book down on the table in front of her. "There is not a single way that we can kill that monster. He's just going to keep getting stronger and stronger!"

Harry watched the outburst with a smirk. "Hermione, you're the one who says that we 'must never give up' and 'that perseverance will always win in the end'. Are you going to admit that you were actually wrong?"

Hermione glared at the boy before storming out, but she called back that she'd be back in five minutes. Harry took that time to glance across the room at Hope, who was curled up in a chair with a book in her lap, taking notes.

"Find anything interesting?" He asked, walking over to her. He held back a sigh of frustration as he saw her tense up yet again.

"Maybe, I'm not sure yet," she said, taking her attention off of whatever she was reading to look at him. "What about you guys? Hermione give up?"

Harry laughed. "Did you ignore her outburst?"

Hope looked at him with a weird expression. "Sorry. Lately I'll go off into a different place when I'm reading or studying. Do I need to go find her?"

Harry shook his head. "Draco is sure to run into her since she was storming toward the kitchen, and that's where he went to get snacks and drinks."

Hope nodded and smiled, happy for her best friend and brother and the relationship they seemed to be creating. "I'm sure she'll be fine then. What have you come up with?"

Harry made a face before moving back to a pile of parchment and taking a sheet of paper off the top. He handed it to her without a word.

Hope read what he had written. "None of them will work."

Harry sighed. "I know, Hope. All of them require that he already be soulless, but then it's easier to just cast the killing curse."

"So I have to find a way to rid him of his soul, which has been split into several pieces, and if I don't, everyone dies and the demise of the wizarding world is my fault. That's a great future to look forward to."

"I'm sorry Hope. It's the only way there is right now."

Hope took that in and closed her eyes before nodding. Harry watched worriedly for another emotion to come on her face, but she just returned to her books and notes.

* * *

Hope was wearing shorts and a halter top as she dodged yet another curse. They had been practicing for almost two hours, and the sweat covered girl was about to pass out from exhaustion and injuries.

Hope looked around for another curse and let herself relax, hoping the session was over. Her father had decided that they needed more practice on physical and magical fighting and defense, so everyone teamed up against her or Harry and she had to knock all of them down before the session was over. Typically, that didn't happen before everyone got tired and gave up.

Hope crouched down to the ground, reminding herself who was out there in the trees: the Weasley twins, Hermione, Draco, her father, and three aurors, plus Harry, all against her. At least they seemed to be ready to give up.

Hope heard the crunch of dry leaves, and turned to see who had gotten the job of telling her it was over. A foot reached out and kicked her hard in the side.

"Damn it," Hope muttered rolling over before standing up in a defensive position. "Must you wear such hard shoes, Draco?"

The boy laughed and began circling her, striking out a few times. The two teens began fighting and blocking, Hope getting a few new bruises.

Hope heard a nasty curse and tried to move to deflect it, only to be blocked by her father, who had snuck up behind her. The curse hit her in the back, and Hope kneeled to the ground in pain.

"Stop!" She cried out, surprising everyone. When they had been training before, Hope wouldn't stop, no matter how badly hurt she got.

Severus looked at his daughter and saw the tears in her eyes. He moved towards her, but she stood up and bolted into the house. He turned around and met several confused and worried eyes before locking onto a pair of emerald ones.

"Do you understand what just happened?" He asked the teen.

Harry shook his head and looked toward the door. "I'll take care of it, though."

* * *

An hour later, Hope was curled up with her Potions textbook and a scroll of parchment in front of her. She was ready to hit her head on a cauldron because of the confusing instructions.

Hearing a knock on the door, she rolled her eyes at the incessant tries of people to come in over the past hour before returning to her reading.

"Hope, open the door or I'll do it for you," Harry called from outside the door.

Hope ignored him and heard him curse. She winced, sensing his foul mood and hoped her charm held up. She was disappointed as he entered a moment later.

"Just so you know, the longer a charm is left up without being recast, the weaker it gets," he said, plopping down into a chair beside her.

"Thanks for the advice," she said, turning back to her book.

"You won't use it against me, will you?" Harry asked, sounding regretful.

"Not against you, just to keep you out when I want to be alone."

Harry sighed. "Hope, will you talk to me?"

"About what, Harry? I have nothing to say to you, and before you go and repeat what I said to Severus, I have nothing to say to him or anyone else either."

Harry sighed again. "I don't know what to do with you anymore. You just don't trust me."

"I do too, Harry!"

"Then why do you continue to push me away?" He asked quietly.

"Because I'm scared, Harry! I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Who has so far, Hope?" Harry saw the tears glistening in her eyes a moment before he landed on the floor in the hallway.

She spoke one more time before slamming the door shut. "My parents."

* * *

After yet another night of almost no sleep, Hope's alarm went off, and she groaned as she rolled out of bed. After a quick shower, she made her way downstairs. Halfway to the office, she ran smack into someone and fell backwards into a shelf causing everything to tumble on her.

"Oww...," she moaned as she shifted. She turned her head to look at the person she'd run into and winced at the look on her father's face.

"Sorry, Severus," she said, looking down. "I promise I'll use the money in my parent's vault to replace whatever's broken beyond fixing."

"Hope...," he trailed off, looking around. "I'm not worried about all the broken stuff, I'm worried about the fact it all broke on your head." He held out a hand to help her up.

Hope let him pull her to her feet and winced again. "I guess that wasn't so good either." She put a hand to her head and made a face when it had blood on it.

"Way to go, Hope. Give yourself a headache _before_ Occlumency lessons."

Hope made another face before going to walk into the office. As soon as she started walking, Hope felt dizziness rush over her and went to slide to the floor. Instead of landing, she felt strong arms envelope her.

"Hope!" Severus exclaimed. Hope stood back up and rubbed her head. "You okay, now?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I don't now what happened."

Severus let go of the girl and watched as she walked into the office and sat down in the chair. He turned to his son.

"Draco, go get some food for her." Draco nodded and ran off. Severus went over to Hope and conjured a warm rag. He began cleaning the cut above Hope's eye when she jerked away.

"I can do it," she muttered, holding her hand out for the rag.

"So can I, child," he kindly said in reply, moving the rag to the cut once again.

"Severus, please!" Hope exclaimed. "I'm not a little girl. I can clean my own cuts."

Severus ignored the girl and raised the rag to the cut again. This time, Hope stayed quiet, but he saw the turmoil in her eyes.

He was just finishing up as Harry trudged in the room, looking more disheveled than normal.

"Good morning everyone!" Harry said cheerfully as he plopped into a chair.

"Merlin, must you be so cheery!" Hope exclaimed, putting her head down into her hands.

"Yep! What's your problem? It's too early for anything to go wrong."

Hope groaned and heard another voice enter the room.

"I have food. Is anyone hungry?" Draco exclaimed.

"No thanks," Hope said, as he held out a plate to her.

"Take it and stop complaining," Severus said, as he took his own plate from his son and set a potion on the table beside his daughter.

Hope took the plate and balanced it on her lap before examining the potion. "What is this?"

"A headache potion. Maybe that'll lesson your foul mood," Harry said from his seat.

Hope angrily stood up, dumping the food and plate all over the floor. She stormed the fifteen feet to Harry before yelling.

"You have no idea why I'm in such a 'foul mood' as you put it, so shut up. Not everyone wakes up from a perfect night's sleep and starts the day off well."

Harry placed his plate aside and stood so he towered over the shorter girl. "I did not have a perfect night's sleep, but that's nobody's problem except my own, which is why I acted kindly instead of rudely, like you."

Hope glared at her boyfriend. "I'm sure, Harry. Did you have a petty little nightmare to disturb your beauty sleep? What did you dream? Perhaps Cho Chang turning you down to the Yule Ball in your fourth year? Must be nice to have such simple problems."

"Hope!" Draco exclaimed.

"Stay out of this, Draco!" Hope said, turning to him. "You have no right to add anything to this conversation."

"And you have no right to _pretend_ to know what I dream about, Hope!" Harry yelled. "But if you must know, I dreamed about those _wonderful_ hours before you arrived when _I_ was the subject of their wrath. Is that real enough for you?"

Hope's voice quieted before she answered, tears glazing her eyes. "_Hours_ Harry? Try _months_ of being treated like that."

Harry smirked. "But you weren't treated that way the _entire_ time you were there, Hope. You were treated like a princess for awhile."

"Is that what you all think?" Hope whispered, looking at all three faces. She turned to Severus. "You were there, and you still think _that_?"

Severus was shocked. "I never said that, Hope."

"But you never said you didn't, either! How could you? How could any of you think that?" She turned and ran from the room, tears falling clearly down her face.

"Damn!" Harry cried out while kicking the table.

"Harry, please refrain from breaking anything in my office."

"Sorry, sir."

Severus nodded, looking upset as he collapsed into his chair. "So much for Occlumency lessons," he muttered.

* * *

By the time dinner had passed that night, Hope still had not returned. Everyone assumed she had gone into the woods again, but now they were getting worried.

"Dad?" Draco asked, entering the potion's lab.

"Yes?"

"Can I go look for Hope? Everyone else has tried to find this place except me. Can I go look?"

Severus pondered that for a moment before nodding. Draco immediately scurried out the door, his wand the only source of light.

He wandered around for an hour until he was deep in the woods. He looked for anywhere Hope might be hiding when he tripped over a pile of branches that were in the middle of the path. Turning, he noticed a small little path that would usually be covered by the branches. He went down it and gasped.

The place was absolutely beautiful. A lake was set off by flowers of every kind and rocks that glistened and shimmered were seen from all around.

Draco walked around in search for his sister. After going about fifty feet, he saw her at the top of the rocks. She had her knees drawn up to her chest and her head resting on them. As Draco got closer he also noticed her shaking shoulders.

"Hope?" He whispered, sitting down next to her.

"Go away. I'm not going back," she muttered, not looking up.

"Then we'll stay here. But why won't you go back?"

"The same reason I don't want you here. Because you all think that the Dark Lord treated me like a princess."

"I know he treated you in some ways like a princess, but I also know from my mother you were locked up in that room, unless Severus was teaching you. I also know that you weren't fed much over the arguments between my parents."

"Then why didn't you say anything in there?" She asked, looking up, tears still falling.

"The same reasons Severus didn't. We were shocked over your fight."

Draco pulled her to him and let her cry on his shoulder. After an hour, she grew still, having fallen asleep.

Draco picked her up and carried her up to the manor. After opening the door, he met a very irate Severus.

"Where have you been! It's been three hours," Severus yelled.

Draco shifted how he was holding Hope in his tired arms. "I was with Hope, who was in her secret place. Now if you don't mind, I have a girl in my arms whom I have carried down a very rocky, long, uneven path. Since she's not getting any lighter, would you mind moving so I can carry her upstairs without dropping her?"

Severus looked at the girl for a moment before holding his arms out for her. Draco looked at his little sister and hesitated before handing her to their father.

"Is she okay?" He asked quietly.

"No, Dad, she's not. But she will be. I'll make sure of it."

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A/N: Merry Christmas!! Here's my Christmas present to you, a new chapter!!! Leave me a present and review?? Pwease??

I love ya'll. 

Kayla


	3. Chapter Three: Breakup

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter Three: Breakup

Hope awoke with a headache that would compare to someone being hit with a bludger. She groaned and rolled out of bed and took a quick shower. When she sat on her bed and pulled out her journal, she realized with a shock the date; July 29th.

Hope jumped at the knock on the door, but relaxed as her father came in.

"You're up early," he said, motioning to the clock.

"Yeah, I guess bad dreams can do that," she muttered, writing more in her journal.

Severus gave her a sympathetic glance. "Want to talk about it?"

"No, but I do need something else."

Severus nodded so she continued. "I need to go to Diagon Alley today to pick up Harry's birthday present."

"What did you get him?"

Hope smiled. "One of those new Firebolt brooms. Plus a kit for it; that way, it will stay in good condition. Both are engraved with his name."

To say Severus was surprised would have been an understatement. "Wow, Lea. That's a nice gift."

Hope nodded. "I know. I told the clerk I would pick it up today, since Harry is going to visit the Weasleys. I thought maybe Draco, you and I could make it kind of a family thing. I just lost track of days."

Severus considered that. "I'll make you a deal. We'll go to Diagon Alley if you promise to start telling me or Draco or Harry when you have a nightmare."

Hope looked worried, but agreed nevertheless. Severus smiled at the girl before getting up to get ready.

* * *

Hope paid for the two items and met back up with her father and brother. They continued walking to get something to eat. They had shopped and talked for a couple of hours before Hope had picked up Harry's presents.

After eating, they returned to the manor, where they sat talking. Harry was not due back for another hour and Hermione was coming with him. She would spend the next couple nights there to help research and practice before returning to the Weasley's house for Harry's birthday party.

Hope was growing tired listening to her father and brother as they talked about potions. Closing her eyes, she fell into the blissful land of sleep.

Severus looked over at his quiet daughter and laughed. She had at some point curled up, and was now peacefully sleeping. He stood and picked up a blanket before carefully draping it over her.

The other two continued talking until the floo flared to life and Harry stepped out.

"Hey Harry!" Draco yelled to his best friend.

"Draco!" Severus admonished. "There is no reason to yell."

Draco glanced at the still sleeping Hope before continuing in a quieter voice. "Did you have fun?"

"Always do. Ron stayed in his room except during meals, but everyone else had fun during Quidditch, games, and of course, jokes by the twins." Harry laughed. "What about you, have fun in Diagon Alley?"

"Yes, it was fun. Where's Hermione?"

Harry made a face. "She was having a hard time leaving Ginny. Her boyfriend owled her right before I left to end it."

"Oh." Draco said, disappointed.

Harry laughed. "Don't worry, mate. She'll be here soon. She just wants to make sure Gin was okay."

Draco nodded. Noting the end of the conversation, Harry went to put his stuff back upstairs. Returning back downstairs, he saw Draco still standing in front of the fireplace as it turned green.

Hermione felt herself topple into another body as the floo threw her out ungracefully.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. Suddenly everyone in the room burst out laughing at the red faced girl.

"Merlin, Hermione. I didn't know you liked Draco _that_ much," Harry said above the laughter.

"Harry, I seem to remember a similar thing happening at Christmas," she retorted with a glare at the boy.

Harry smiled. "True, but she was my girlfriend by the end of the night. Can I expect the same from you two?"

Both blushed and scrambled away from each other. Draco walked into an empty table which crashed to the floor loudly, causing Hope to jerk awake. She looked at her brother and her best friend, noting their red faces, and then the table before shaking her head.

Hope got up from the chair and gave her best friend a hug. "Nice entrance, I assume?" She commented.

Hermione blushed deeper before holding up her bag. "Where do I put this?"

Draco, regaining some pride, reached out for it. She wordlessly gave it to him and watched as he took it upstairs.

"For now, he'll put it in my room. If you decide you want your own, I'll move it later," Hope explained.

"I'll share. It would be weird to have my own room after Hogwarts and the Weasleys."

Hope nodded and dragged her best friend over to sit on the couch. "So really, when _is_ Draco going to ask you out?" Hope asked.

Hermione sighed. "I really don't know. Usually when a guy likes a girl who likes him back, they say something."

Severus looked uncomfortable. "I think I will go up to my room and leave you to your teenaged chitchat."

"Alright. Night, Severus," Hope said, getting up to give him a hug.

"Goodnight Hope. Remember our deal." Hope looked at the floor and nodded.

Draco came back downstairs during the encounter and raised an eyebrow at his sister after their father went upstairs.

"What deal, Hope?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Hope sighed and sat back down. "I made him a deal that if he took me to Diagon Alley, then I would start waking up someone when I had a nightmare."

Hermione's mouth made an "o" shape while Harry looked upset.

"You listen to him, but not to me?" Harry asked.

Hope glared at the dark haired boy. "After yesterday, you're lucky you still have a girlfriend, do you really want to push you luck tonight?" She asked darkly.

Harry looked as if someone had slapped him. "Hope...I..."

"...didn't think? I don't care, Harry. What you said last night was hurtful."

"And what you said wasn't?"

"I didn't say something to purposely hurt you. I didn't accuse you of just watching while Cedric or Sirius was killed, but you might as well have accused me of the same thing, if not something worse."

Harry was shocked. "Hope, I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes, Harry, you did. I saw it in your eyes. Maybe you want to know what it was really like? I was locked in a room, had nothing to do, had little to no food, and still got an occasional beating or cursing. If you think _that_ is being treated like a princess, the you need to go back to your muggle school."

Hermione and Draco just watched as Hope and Harry yelled at each other. Tears were evident in both teens eyes, but neither were willing to back down.

"Really bad, Hope. At least it wasn't continual curses!"

"No, that was the first month and a half I was there, and that thirty minutes with Malfoy. Oh, and let's not forget that you were never thrown into a lake!"

"It was only water!"

"Which I'm absolutely petrified of, Harry! You don't get it!"

"You don't help me understand by shutting me out. You're my girlfriend, but you feel like a bloody stranger anymore."

Hurt overcame Hope's features. "Fine, Harry," she said, letting a few tears fall. "If I don't act like a girlfriend, or feel like one, then I'll leave you free to find one who fits your standards." She reached up and unclasped her necklace from him, placing it gently on the table.

Everyone watched the regret that passed over Harry's face. "Hope..." he started, but Hope turned and ran, only to be caught by her brother. She turned and buried her head in his shoulder, tears making his shirt wet.

"Harry, if you want to make it out of this conversation unscathed, I would suggest you go upstairs before I curse you," Draco said with an angry look toward his best friend.

Harry looked at the girl crying and felt his heart break. "Hope, you can't mean that. You can't seriously want our relationship to be over."

The girl just started crying harder and Draco threw a murderous glare at Harry. "Go upstairs now!" He said cruelly.

Harry looked at the girl one last time before going upstairs to his room. Draco turned his attention to Hermione. "Get the necklace off the table and put it upstairs in her jewelry box. Then knock on my dad's door and tell him we need him downstairs now. And if you see Harry, tell him if he has any self-preservation, then he'll stay upstairs."

Hermione nodded and ran upstairs. She carefully hung the necklace in the jewelry box and ran to Severus' room where she knocked loudly. The professor answered the door and looked confused.

"We need you downstairs. Hope's crying and Draco said to get you."

Severus quickly followed the girl downstairs and instantly went to his daughter's side. He coaxed her away from Draco and pulled her to him.

"What's wrong, Lea?" He whispered to the distraught girl.

"Harry," she chocked out between tears. Severus turned to the other two teens for information.

"They fought again. Harry said that she didn't act like a girlfriend, so she broke up with him. He's the one she's been using to let loose all her conflicting emotions on, I'm pretty sure she didn't mean it. I've seen them together when they thought they were alone, Dad. They love each other, but Hope doesn't know what to do."

Hermione felt she needed to defend her other friend. "Sir, they are both distraught. I think both had been trying not to hurt each other by ignoring difficult topics for so long. And now that they've come out, neither was sure how to react."

Severus sighed and held his still crying daughter closer. "Go see if Harry is okay," he ordered the two.

Hermione and Draco disappeared up the stairs and Severus turned his attention to Hope.

"Lea, talk to me," he whispered softly.

"I didn't want to. I didn't know what else to do," she muttered, running out of tears.

"It's okay. We'll fix it."

"No, we won't. He won't ever understand."

"Have you ever explained it to him?"

"I don't know how," she whined.

Severus pulled away from the girl. "Lea, maybe you should let him read your journal. I saw what you went through, Draco heard it about it at home, but Harry has no clue."

"I can't! Nobody can read that."

"Why not, child? Do you want him to understand?"

"Yes, but it would be so awkward around him."

"That will pass. It's time to let him in. You won't stand a chance at a relationship or winning the war if you don't."

Hope closed her eyes and leaned against her father again. "I guess I have no choice," she said, tears returning again.

Severus held the girl until she fell asleep. Picking her up, he carried her to her room where he laid her down and sat until Hermione returned.

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A/N: Hey everyone!! I got no reviews :(. I'm going to cry.   
I really do want to know what you all think about my story. If you don't like something, or want something to happen, let me know. I'm open to suggestions.

Kayla


	4. Chapter Four: Birthday

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter Four: Birthdays

Two days later, Hope and Harry still weren't talking to each other. Everyone noticed the sad look in both of their eyes and wanted to lock them in a room together until they worked it out.

But they couldn't. Today was Harry's birthday, and everyone was preparing for Harry's birthday party. Everyone except Hope.

Hermione came downstairs to see Hope curled up in a chair, reading a bound black book.

"What is that?" She asked.

"My journal," Hope responded quietly. "Tomorrow will be a year since Severus gave it to me."

Hermione gave the girl a sad smile. "How hard is tonight going to be on you?"

"Honestly, be glad that you're not going to be sharing a room with me. I'm going to ask Severus if I can put a silencing charm on my room tonight."

"And I'm going to say no," Severus said, entering the room.

Hermione laughed. "You sure you don't want me to stay another night?"

"No Hermione. I floo call tomorrow, okay?"

Hermione looked skeptical but nodded.

Draco came downstairs with Harry behind him. "So, how's it feel to be seventeen, mate?"

Harry just pushed Draco, causing everyone except for Hope to laugh. Hope wordlessly handed the black book to Severus. She walked over to the two boys and gave Draco a hug.

"Have fun, and Happy Birthday, Harry," she said, continuing up the stairs.

Harry looked at everyone else in the room. "She's not coming?" He asked, hurt.

"She doesn't feel like she would be welcomed," Severus commented.

Harry closed his eyes. "You guys go ahead. I'll be there in a minute." He turned and took the stairs two at a time. He walked down the hallway and knocked on Hope's door.

"Come in."

Harry opened the door and saw shock register on her face.

"Harry. Hi. I expected Severus or Draco."

"Sorry, they went ahead. Hope, come to the party."

Hope looked away. "Can you honestly say you want me there?"

Harry went forward and took her hands in his. "Hope, I know how hard tonight is going to be on you. Don't spend the hours leading up to it by yourself. I want you there."

Hope let him pull her to her feet. "Can we be civil, Harry?" She asked quietly. "I don't want to fight anymore."

Harry pulled her into a hug. "We'll be friends, Hope."

Hope pulled away from the hug and let Harry lead her downstairs. He flood through and after a few minutes she followed.

She prepared herself to tumble through the floor like normal, but before that could happen, strong arms encircled her. She blushed.

"Thanks, Harry."

The dark-haired boy smiled. "No problem."

The party started and Hope tried to join in on the celebration. Two hours into it, Hope was talking politely with one of Ron's older brothers when Severus came up to them. Bill excused himself, leaving the two alone.

"Doing okay?" He asked.

"Remembering what happened, trying to get rid of the nervousness, and fighting to keep the emotions down until later." Hope sighed. "I really don't know, Severus. A week ago, I expected to be able to throw all this on Harry. For him to be able to pull me close and tell me it would all be okay. Now I'm not sure what to lean on."

"Your family, perhaps?" He said, as if it was obvious.

"That's okay up to a point, but you didn't know me until after it all happened. Harry did."

Severus nodded. "I'm sure he'd still be willing to help."

Hope shrugged, looking to where Harry and his friends were joking around. "I'll manage. It's his birthday, and he doesn't need the extra burden."

Severus eyed the girl warily before shaking his head and walking away.

Hope looked around for Hermione and saw her talking enthusiastically with Ginny.

"Hey!" Hermione exclaimed, seeing Hope.

Hope slowly walked over to them. "Hey guys."

"Hope, you have to help us!" Ginny exclaimed. "We're trying to find a way into talking Professor Dumbledore into throwing another ball this year. Any ideas?"

Hope laughed. "Hermione, why don't you just ask Severus if we can throw one at the manor? It'd be easier than convincing Dumbledore after the last one."

Hermione looked thoughtful for a minute before grabbing Hope and Ginny's hand's and pulling them toward the potion's master, who was deep in discussion with the Headmaster.

"Excuse me, Professor. Hope, Ginny, and I were, well wondering if maybe, perhaps you might, maybe, allow us to…" Hermione trailed off.

Hope laughed. "Severus, can we throw a back to school ball at the manor?"

Severus raised an eyebrow at the three girls. "Will you allow your brother to invite his friends?" Hope nodded. "Very well, plan it for the night before school starts."

Hermione and Ginny squealed excitedly and dragged Hope off to plan.

* * *

About an hour later, everyone gathered around to watch Harry open presents. He opened each present after telling everyone who it was from.

"This one is from…" Harry trailed off and made eye contact with a pair of midnight blue eyes. "Hope," he said quietly. Harry carefully opened it and gasped.

"Hope, I can't accept these. They must have cost a fortune."

Hope smiled. "Take them. I thought you deserved a broom that matched your skill."

Harry smiled and continued opening the rest of his presents. Hope turned around and quietly made her exit into the Weasley's back yard. She walked to the edge of the property, to the same place she had been at Christmas when Harry found her.

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Mum…dad…I miss you," she whispered, letting the tears fall. "Nothing is right. You should be here, and Harry and I should still be together. Nothing is fair."

Hope sat down on the ground and let her tears keep falling. Emotions were catching up with her and she had nowhere to turn to. She was in the middle of a birthday party for the one person that she thought would never betray her.

An hour later, Hope wiped her tears and made her way back inside. Everyone except a few people had left, and Severus was looking slightly worried. He looked around and saw Hope, and the relief on his face was clearly noticeable on the usually stoic man.

"Hope, what's wrong?" He asked her, taking in her puffy eyes and tear-tracked cheeks.

Hope shook her head. "Not here," she muttered. She went and helped Mrs. Weasley begin cleaning up, noticing her father's eyes on her the entire time. After some time, her brother also began to watch her worriedly.

Around seven o'clock, everyone left and returned to the manor. Draco had carried Harry's presents through so they didn't topple and break when Harry came through.

Severus and Draco went upstairs to continue research on some potion, leaving Hope and Harry alone. Severus handed Hope something with a pointed look before heading upstairs.

"I can help you put everything away, if you want."

Harry nodded and picked the box up before leading the way up to his room. They spent an hour putting things away before happily banishing the box.

"Hope, I didn't really get to talk to you much at the party, but I saw you were pretty upset. You need to know that if you want to talk, I'm still here."

Hope nodded. "Thanks."

They sat in silence for a couple minutes. Finally Hope fidgeted. "Harry, I have something else for you…"

"What else? You already gotten me more than I expected," he asked, shocked.

Hope sighed. "This isn't costing me any money, just a lot of pride." She pulled something out of her robe and hesitated, before handing it to Harry.

"Hope…" Harry was shocked.

"You need to understand," she said, with tears falling. "This way you will. Severus got me a new one, so don't rush through it."

Harry nodded numbly. "Hope you don't have to do this."

"I do, Harry. I have to, because if I don't, then you and I won't ever fully fix this. I can't be selfish anymore. I love you, Harry, and I have to let you see what happened or I'm screwing up everything. Not only us, but the entire light side." Hope stopped, furiously wiping at her tears. "You have to love me unconditionally for us to beat Voldemort. This will help you achieve that. But more importantly, maybe with this, we can finally work things out. I miss you, and…" Hope trailed off and turned and ran out of the room, ignoring Harry when he called her name.

Harry sighed and looked at the book in his hands. Closing the door, he sat down and began to read.

_August 1__st__ 1996_

_I'm really not sure how this is going to help. Severus said that this would be easier because he couldn't be here all the time, and I would need some way that I could let things out. He charmed this so nobody with evil intentions could see it. I'm glad, at least I don't have to worry about keeping it hidden from them._

_The death eaters are vicious. Severus has told me many of their names, but since I never see their faces, it doesn't matter. They throw curses at me, and some continually kick me. I feel the broken bones throughout my body, and can barely move. It's horrible. I want to go home so badly. Severus says he's trying to get me out of here, but how hard can it be for him to get me out? He knows where I am. I'm not sure I can trust him._

_I just want to go back to Little Whinging, so I can see my parents, and John, and Harry again. I don't know what to do, but I know I won't be able to take many days like this. _

Harry closed his eyes and felt horrible. At least with him, they didn't physically hit him.

"It's bad isn't it? Different from what you thought."

Harry turned and locked eyes with Severus. "They were ruthless to her. How often were you unable to heal her?"

Severus sighed, looking guilty. "The majority of the time. She became petrified of wands, and eventually they forced potions down her throat, so she refused those as well. Remember her reaction in the hospital wing? Usually, it would be four or five times worse. Except she wouldn't use accidental magic. The times where she was unconscious when I got there, I was ordered not to do anything. There were five times total she was healed the entire time she was there."

Harry shook his head. "I already regret everything I said and it's only the first entry. I read my name and feel how lost and confused she was and I wish that I could have stopped them."

"It was a year ago, Harry. Move past it and help her. She's going to want to push everyone away now. Stand firm, even when she says hurtful things. We all have to show her she can't push us away."

Harry nodded. Severus left and Harry closed the notebook before getting a shower and getting ready for bed. He fell asleep thinking about Hope and all the horrible things that awaited him in that book.

----------------

A/N: Sorry about not posting earlier you guys. This past week has been extremely stressful and tiring, and I'm managing maybe two or three hours of sleep a night so I'm a few days behind   
Thanks to the reviewers and to my wonderful beta.  
Please leave me a review to let me know what you think of the story.  
Kayla


	5. Chapter Five: Nightmares

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

* * *

Chapter Five: Nightmares

Severus and Draco were awoken around midnight by two screams. They rushed out into the hallway. With a look of agreement from his father, Draco went down to Harry's room while Severus went to Hope's.

Draco walked up and shook Harry to wake him. When that didn't work, he sighed and slapped his best friend across the face. Still he didn't wake.

Draco was pondering other ideas when Harry screamed out words. "No!!! Hope!!!"

Draco, out of ideas, conjured a bucket of ice water and dumped it with a wince. Harry jerked awake.

"Finally," Draco muttered.

"What?" Harry asked, turning confused eyes on Draco.

"Well, you wouldn't wake up from your nightmare. Sorry about the wet clothes and stuff."

Harry looked even more confused. "What nightmare…Hope!" Harry unsteadily got to his feet, rushing out of his room and down the hall to Hope's.

Draco was right behind him and saw Severus' panicked look the moment that he entered. "She won't wake up!" He exclaimed.

"Voldemort's in her head. He was in both our heads, but I guess it was costing him too much energy."

Severus and Draco winced. "What's he doing to her?" Severus asked.

Harry sighed. "He knows the pain he causes us in our minds will also hurt in reality. The cuts, bruises and blood won't carry through, but the pain and aftereffects of curses will. He started out by torturing me and making her watch, blaming her for it. Then he turned to her and released my mind. I only can imagine that he is using the same curses on her."

Hope let out another scream and Harry turned to the potion's master. "I need to get back in her mind. Will you help me or are you going to listen to your daughter scream all night?"

Severus stood up and moved beside an obvious tired and sore Harry. He took his wand out and waited for Harry to do the same.

"Are you sure you have the energy to do this after what just happened?" Severus asked in concern. "It'll drain you're energy."

"I have to do this. There will be time later to focus on the pain and tiredness, right now I have to rescue her."

Severus nodded and showed him the complicated steps and watched as Harry correctly repeated the spell before entering Hope's mind.

Harry was thrown into a world identical to the one he had left moments earlier. He heard Hope groan and turned toward that direction. Hurrying, he threw up a shield around them and placed himself directly in front of Hope. He knelt down to get the girl to look at him.

"Harry?" She whispered.

"Oh Merlin, Hope! I'm so sorry," he said, seeing the damage done to her.

"Not your fault," she whispered hoarsely. Her eyes held a pleading look in them. "Get me out of here."

Harry felt the shield behind him flicker, but knew he couldn't get distracted. If it collapsed, the curse would hit him rather than Hope.

"I'm going to. Remember everything Severus taught us? Push him out. What was your 'wall' again?"

Hope closed her eyes. "A field at midnight with no moon."

Harry nodded. "That's right. Put us there."

He felt the shield collapse an instant before the pain overcame his body. Pushing it aside, he focused on Hope as another curse hit him.

"Do it for me, if not for yourself. Because I'm not moving out of his way until you get to your field or until I die."

Harry felt another more painful curse hit him and bit his lip. Hope closed her eyes again and soon they were in the middle of a pitch black field.

Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks," Hope whispered.

Harry nodded. "I'm going to leave your mind now, Hope. Wake up as soon as I leave, okay? Severus and Draco are there to take care of you."

"What about you?"

Harry shrugged. "After they're done with you, I'll get a few potions from Severus."

"But Harry! You were hit with the Cruciatus curse at least four times. You shouldn't be up, and you won't be able to hide the aftereffects from my dad."

"He hasn't noticed them yet, he's too focused on you. Let them take care of you, Hope. I'll be fine."

Hope nodded, knowing arguing back would only prolong the care they both needed. She smiled weakly as he nodded before exiting her mind.

Harry almost fell off Hope's bed as he reentered the real world. He stood up shakily and backed up to let Severus and Draco take care of Hope.

Hope looked around for Harry and locked eyes with him. She went to say something, but a potion vial was at her lips. She noticed a tremor go through Harry's body as he sat in a chair and closed his eyes wearily.

Harry felt Hope's eyes on him after he sat down and opened his eyes to meet her midnight ones again. He raised an eyebrow at her father and brother hovering over her. The unasked question in her eyes made him force a fake smile on his face.

"I'm okay," he mouthed to her.

Harry saw the disbelief in her eyes. He stood and used the wall for support as he exited the room. He leaned again the wall outside and closed his eyes again.

"Harry?" A voice asked from the door. "You okay, mate?"

"I'm fine, Draco. Go take care of Hope."

Draco noticed a tremor that Harry failed to stop. "You're not fine. I can't believe Dad and I forgot about you. Come back in and sit down. Hope's fine, just resting. You need some potions for the after effects of so many curses."

Harry hesitated but did as the blond asked. He followed Draco to the couch in Hope's room and laid down on it. Severus looked in his direction and his usually stoic face was filled with concern over the two teens.

He rushed over and handed Harry numerous potions. Harry drank them all quickly and glanced at Hope. She was watching him, and from the look on her face, he knew she wanted to say something to him.

Harry finished drinking all the potions he was given, and after answering questions, was finally left alone. Severus and Draco went back to irritating Hope with questions.

"I'm fine!" She burst out suddenly, catching Harry's attention.

"Hope," Severus said as a warning. Hope rolled her eyes.

"I'm okay, Severus. Really. Can I talk to Harry for a minute please?"

Severus and Draco exchanged looks but nodded and left the room. After the door pulled shut, she turned her attention to the boy on the couch.

"Harry, I'm so sorry."

Harry had to stop and make sure he had heard her right. "What are you apologizing for?"

"Because you never would have been dragged into this if it wasn't for me. The pain you're feeling wouldn't be there."

Harry ignored the pain and tiredness of his body to walk over to her bed and sit down beside her. He pulled her against him.

"Hope, I was 'dragged into this' long before you were. Voldemort has been after me since I was a baby. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me for leaving you alone again with that madman."

Hope winced. "I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep tonight."

Harry nodded, empathetic about that fact. "I don't think anyone is planning on going back to sleep. We'll all catch a nap and be done with it."

Hope paled considerably. "I think I'll stick to just sleeping at night, thanks."

"Hope, why are you so afraid of sleeping? I know you have nightmares, but ask Severus if he can come up with a potion to stop them. He's a Potion's Master. He should be able to come up with something."

Hope shook her head. "I don't take anything to help me sleep because then I just get trapped in the memories. Or I wake up alone. I reverted to not being able to stand waking up alone. That's why I had Hermione sleep in here."

Harry was shocked. "Hope, why didn't you say anything? Any of us would have been willing to stay with you. Especially me, I mean, I was your boyfriend."

Hope's face dropped even more. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I mess up so much."

Harry shook his head. "Hope, we can fix anything."

Hope nodded, letting the discussion drop for now. Harry held her close to him for awhile longer before mumbling something about going to his room.

After he left, Hope pulled out her journal and wrote about the horrible night that had just transpired.

* * *

Two hours later, Severus left Draco with the potion they were brewing to go check on the other two teens in the house. He walked into Harry's room and noticed him reading the journal Hope had given him.

"The sadistic bastard!" Harry screamed, slamming the journal shut.

"Has it really taken you six years to realize that's what the Dark Lord is?" Severus asked from the doorway.

Harry jerked his face up to see the older man. "No, but this reinforces it. Do you have any idea that he tortured muggles in front of her, and then got her to blame herself?"

Severus nodded. "I was only there with her as she sorted through her feelings."

Harry looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Harry, I warn you, if you are this upset now, it only gets worse."

Harry shook his head wearily and set the book down at his desk. He sat back down on his bed.

"How did Hope make it through that ordeal without giving in? She had no clue what was waiting for her on the light side, yet she never gave up."

Severus smiled. "I asked her that once. What had been her beacon of light in the darkness surrounding her. What caused her to never give up. Her answered would surprise you."

Harry looked up questioningly. "What was it?"

Severus shook his head. "That's for Hope to tell you, Harry."

Harry pouted. Severus pulled some potions from his robes and laid them on the table beside Harry's bed. "Drink those now, but save the blue one for whenever you feel ready to sleep again."

With a swish of robes, the man disappeared down the hall and into Hope's room. His daughter was curled up in her bed, writing furiously into her notebook. When she heard the door close, she jumped and looked up with unshed tears in her eyes.

Severus sat down next to her and pulled her against him. She turned against her father's robes and let her tears fall.

After all her tears had escaped, Hope sat back up and rubbed her eyes. She wasn't ready for the emotions that returned tonight, and writing them down only helped so much. She needed to talk to her father, but was afraid of the reaction.

Severus saw the turmoil going on in his daughter's eyes. "Hope?" He whispered.

She shook her head as an answer. A symbol she wasn't quite ready to tell him what was on her mind. Her answer hurt him. It reminded him that she still did not trust any of them unconditionally. Or maybe she was pushing them away again. He needed to have a serious talk with her soon.

But for now, he laid the potion's on her table, giving her the same explanation as Harry. Raising from Hope's bed, he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving the room to go finish those potions.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it's a couple days late. I've had a lot going on. Hope you enjoy. Review please.

Kayla


	6. Chapter Six: Shopping and Threats

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

----------------

Chapter Six: Shopping and Threats

Harry awoke late the next day and made his way downstairs. He noticed Hope was already downstairs with Draco and Severus.

"Somebody could have woke me," Harry said, as he collapsed into a chair.

Draco laughed. "After the potion you took, I'm surprised you're awake now."

"Hope's awake also. Maybe the potion wasn't made right."

"I didn't take the potion," Hope said without looking up from her book.

"Why not?"

"Because all of Severus' potions make you sleep, and that one was designed to make you sleep without waking up to any noise around you. That's something I really didn't want to do."

Harry looked at her awhile before shrugging. "So, what are we doing today?"

Severus spoke up for the first time since Harry had come downstairs. "I was thinking we could go to Diagon Alley. You're letters arrived earlier.

Harry jumped up off the couch and went to the kitchen to grab his letter. Tearing it open, he quickly scanned the list of books he would need.

"Can we go shopping in muggle London as well, Severus? I need some new clothes before winter, and with it being my last year, we probably won't have much time to slip away during school and shop."

Severus seemed to seriously think about that for awhile before answering. "If you hurry and get ready; I want to return home before dark."

Hope jumped up and rushed upstairs, causing Harry and Draco to laugh as they also got up to get ready.

* * *

Draco and Harry groaned as Hope went into yet another clothing store. They glanced up at Severus and saw, as usual, a stoic expression that did not give anything away.

"Dad!" Draco complained. "Can't you tell her not to shop anymore?"

"Sure, same time I tell you not to play Quidditch anymore."

Draco muttered something under his breath. Severus shot his son a glare before returning his attention to his daughter.

"Hope, how about we call it a day so we can get your school supplies and still get home before it gets dark? I will bring you up here with Miss Granger when you get the final list of items needed for the ball."

Hope looked sad for a moment before shrugging, and turned to follow everyone else back to Diagon Alley.

Hope wandered away from Severus to look around as the group entered the bookstore. She looked around for them, and saw Harry a shelf down from her. She smiled at him before continuing her quest for books.

She piled each one she needed on top of each other and turned around when someone ran into her. She fell backwards and hit the bookshelf behind her, causing all the books to tumble down on top of her.

"Oww…," she muttered. "Is there a thing with me and shelves this summer?"

"Poor ickle Hope," the harsh voice in front of her said sarcastically. "Having a hard day to match your terrifying night?"

Hope looked up in shock. She hadn't heard that voice since she and Harry had been kidnapped. "What do you want, Lucius?"

"Oh, only to give you a reminder about who is still waiting for you."

"Oh, and who would that be?" Hope asked, looking around for Harry, Draco, and Severus.

Lucius bent down close to her ear. "You know very well who that is. Just think about how easily it would have been to take you or Harry to him today while you shopped in London ."

Hope looked alarmed. "You were following me?"

Lucius laughed. "Oh, Hope, you are so naïve. Anytime you leave Snape's land, we are watching you for my Lord."

Hope's face paled. "So then, why haven't you already taken me to him?"

"Because Hope, his purpose isn't to _just _kill you anymore. No, he wants to kill everyone that you care about. Then torture you to death."

"I don't believe you," she spat at him.

"Really? How about I prove it to you. Potter really had a blast at his party at the Weasley's. Probably didn't even notice how you went outside and cried," he whispered maliciously in her ear.

"You bastard!" Hope yelled, trying to stand up. Lucius just pushed her back down, causing her to hit her head again, leaving a cut above her eye.

"Such foul language from such a pretty girl."

"I suggest you step away from my daughter this instant, Lucius."

Lucius conspicuously placed a note into Hope's hand before raising to face Severus.

"Hello, Severus. It's been awhile, my friend."

Severus glared at the man. "I am no friend of yours, Lucius. Kindly keep away from my children and their friends."

"I have done nothing to _your children_. But, if I were you, I would keep a better eye on them. You never know who could be watching."

Lucius turned and walked out of the store. Severus watched him before turning to scan the other faces for threats. Spotting no one else, he turned to his very pale and shaking daughter, who was being helped up by Harry and Draco.

"Hope?" Harry asked quietly as Draco backed off to give her some space. Hope looked up at him before gingerly touching her head.

"Sorry. I guess I ruined another day, huh?"

Severus watched as Harry put a protective arm around the girl's waist. "You didn't ruin anything, Hope."

Hope didn't answer, instead choosing to glance fearfully at Severus. "Are you mad?"

Severus shook his head. "We'll talk when we get home. Let's quickly finish shopping."

Hope leaned warily against Harry as they continued shopping. She didn't say much after the encounter, which did not go unnoticed by anyone.

The four quickly finished their shopping before heading back to Snape Manor. Once there, they put away their stuff and gathered in the sitting room.

Hope was thinking over everything that had been said between her and Lucius. She was extremely worried, but should she be? Pansy had made the same threat before, and nobody had died. Voldemort himself had even said that he would murder everyone, but nobody had been hurt.

"Hope!" Draco yelled, getting the girl's attention.

"Huh? Sorry," Hope muttered, looking at her brother.

"What did Malfoy say to you that has you so upset, Hope?" Harry asked her gently.

Hope scanned her mind for a plausible lie before just deciding to trust the ones she loved with the truth. "He said a lot. First he told me we were being watched each time we left the manor. Secondly, he felt fit to tell me that Voldemort's newest task is to kill everyone I care about."

Severus winced, as did Harry and Draco. "He won't succeed, Lea. Everyone is capable of taking care of themselves."

Hope nodded. "I know – it just makes me worry is all."

"Well don't, little sis. Everyone will be fine." Draco added in.

Hope nodded, pulling the note he gave her out of her pocket. "He also gave this to me." She unfolded it to read the block letters written across the white parchment.

**TOMMOROW SHOULD BE A BIG DAY.  
****THE DARK LORD IS READY FOR A BLOOD BATH.  
YOU WERE WARNED.**

Hope dropped the note to the floor. Severus reached over and took it before rushing up to his office.

"Hope, what did it say that has even Dad worried?" Draco wondered, watching his pale sister.

Hope repeated the message to the other two and watched their expressions change.

"Who is going to be attacked tomorrow?"

"I don't know, Draco. But it's not going to be good."

"They'll figure it out, Hope. Calm down."

"I'm fine. I'm going to go to my room though," she said, standing up.

Both boys shared a look before watching Hope disappear up the stairs.

* * *

Harry was sitting in his bed with Hope's journal propped on his lap. The more he read, the more upset he became. He was toward the end of August. Voldemort killed a muggle family in front of her, causing her to blame it on herself. He reread the entry he was on.

_August 29, 1996 _

_I can't believe it! I just killed a family. A baby. He killed them because of me. What am I supposed to do? He's going to keep doing it unless I join him. He tortured them. I could've stopped it. All I had to do was say I would join him. But I couldn't do that to Harry and now they are dead. All because of me.  
Where is Severus!!! I need him so badly right now. He tortured a baby. A eight month old baby. She was too young to know what was wrong. What is wrong with me?_

Harry had to wonder once again why she ended up saying no to him continuously when she had no clue what awaited her on the light side. Getting up from his bed, he went to Hope's room and stood in the doorway, watching her write. Eventually, she looked up and smiled weakly at him.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked, seeing the book in his hand.

Harry walked into the room and sat on the end of her bed. "I wanted to ask a question." He showed her the page he was reading so she knew how far he was.

Hope's face fell a little, but she nodded anyway.

"Hope, so much happened to you, and I'm not even to September yet. I was wondering why you were so firm in fighting for the light when you didn't even know what the war was about? You felt so guilty, and even I was tempted in my first year when Voldemort offered me to switch sides. I'd had a year to accept it, you were just thrown into it. Why didn't you conform to his wishes?"

Hope marked her page and set the journal aside before looking right into Harry's curious emerald eyes.

"Harry, there were so many reasons. I had Severus with me, always helping me. While others were so firm and hard, he was gently and kind. If that's what awaited me on the light side, I knew I had to be on that side. The tortures only helped me be convinced of the light. Yes, at first I blamed myself, but I realized I wasn't the one holding the wand at them. I wasn't able to do anything to stop it. If I conformed to their ways, then they would just torture muggles for the fun of it, and expect me to do the same. But Harry, the main reason was you. I saw you fight those wizards that night. I knew you had lost your parents, a friend, and your godfather. It didn't take long for me to put together that somehow they were connecting to those people. But even before that, he wanted me to help kill you, and he couldn't do it without me. I used the idea that you'd be waiting to welcome me to the light to keep me firm in my decision not to join them."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "Wow, Hope. Severus told me that your answer would surprise me, but I wasn't expecting that, even with that warning."

Hope laughed. "I surprised him as well when he asked."

Harry stood up, covering a yawn. "I think I'm going to go ahead and go to bed. You going to be okay tonight after what happened at Flourish and Blotts?"

Hope nodded. "I'm going to finish writing in my journal and then read some more. Maybe if I get tired enough I won't have nightmares."  
Harry looked at her. "Do you want me to stay?"

Hope did, but she didn't want to impose on Harry's sleep. She reluctantly shook her head.

"Are you sure, Hope? I really don't mind, and it'd give Severus and chance to sleep through the night without checking on your constantly."

Hope sighed. "Harry, I know you want to protect me, but I don't want to force you to sleep on the couch in here."

Harry smiled. "Then scoot your little self over and share your bed. Let me go and get changed, put some stuff away, and then I'll be back."

Hope went to argue, but Harry had left the room before she could. Sighing, she went back to writing. She had just finished as Severus entered the room.

"Hope, do you mind going to the Weasley's tomorrow? They invited us over, and I think it would be a good chance to relax. We need to take some new security measures for them."

Hope nodded. "It'll be fun. I've been wanting to work with Hermione more on the plans for the ball anyway."

Severus nodded. "Do you want a potion to sleep tonight?"

Hope smiled and shook her head as she saw Harry reenter the room. She scooted over and watched Severus' expression as he slid in next to her.

"No, I think I'll be okay." Suddenly, she was worried that he wouldn't approve of this. "Severus, you are okay with this right? Because if not, then I'll sleep on the couch or something. You know I don't like waking up alone, and well, he offered and…"

"Quiet, child. It's fine, I was just surprised to see you two together after a couple days ago. If it will help you sleep peacefully, then it's fine."

Hope smiled. "Okay, night Severus."

Severus nodded and left the room. Hope curled up and listened as Harry fell asleep before doing the same herself.

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A/N: Hey Everyone. Hope everyone's doing great. Guess what, THE COLTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!!! YIPEE!! Make me even happier and leave a review please???


	7. Chapter Seven: Attack!

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

**_WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH IN THIS CHAPTER_**

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Chapter Seven: Attack

Draco went downstairs a little later than usual and was surprised when nobody except Severus was awake. He sat down in a chair as the man looked up from his paper.

"Good morning, Draco," Severus said, reading his paper.

"Good morning, Dad. Where are Hope and Harry? They're usually the first ones up."

"Both are sleeping. What would you like for breakfast?"

Draco shrugged to show it didn't matter, so Severus went to inform the house elf to start cooking before going to wake up Hope and Harry. Draco followed him up the stairs, but stopped in front of Hope's door.

Sometime during the night, Hope had curled up against Harry and had her head lying on his chest. Harry had wrapped an arm around her. Both were sleeping peacefully.

Severus made a face and cleared his throat before shouting loudly to wake the teens up.

Hope groaned and rose up enough to see who was waking her up.

"Morning Sev'rus," Hope grumbled before laying her head back down.

"Kindly put some space between yours and Mr. Potter's body and get out of bed."

Hope mumbled incoherently, Draco laughed, and Severus glared.

"Both of you need to get out of bed. Breakfast will be ready at ten and we are expected at the Weasleys by eleven thirty."

Severus turned and left the room. Draco went to his room to shower before breakfast. He was on his way back downstairs when Severus reappeared.

"Where in Merlin's name is your sister?" Severus asked, agitated.

Draco looked up toward her room. "Still in bed, perhaps? She hasn't exactly had the best past couple of nights."

Severus' face softened a bit. "I guess she can grab something to eat at the Weasleys, as can Harry. We'll wake them after breakfast."

During breakfast, Draco and Severus discussed different potion. By the time they were finished, it was quarter till eleven. They made their way back upstairs – Draco to go finish getting ready, and Severus to wake up the other two teens.

As he entered Hope's room, he went around to the side of the bed that she was on and gently shook her.

"Go away," she muttered.

"I will, once you get up. We need to be ready to leave in about thirty minutes."

Hope jerked up, causing Harry to wake as well. "We need to be where in what!?"

"Hope, thirty minutes is plenty of time to get ready if you get moving now."

"GET OUT!" Hope screamed as she grabbed a hand of both Severus and Harry and dragged them into the hall. The door was slammed in their faces and a few minutes later they heard the shower kick on.

"What happened?" A confused Harry asked from his spot in the hallway.

"She's worried she won't have enough time to get ready before she has to be at the Weasley's house."

"It's only the Weasleys," Harry muttered.

"My thoughts exactly. Get ready and come downstairs," Severus said before walking away.

Harry shook his head and went to get a shower before throwing on jeans and a t-shirt. He went downstairs and started a game of chess with Draco while waiting for Hope.

Twenty minutes later, Hope rushed downstairs. Harry, Draco, and Severus raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hope, we're going to the Weasleys, not to see the minister," Draco said sarcastically.

Hope shrugged, looking down at her white pants and baby pink halter top. "As if I would dress up to see him. Besides, today is the first day that I've actually had sleep and don't have to practice fighting or blocking spells. I'm a girl, let me act like it."

Everyone shook their head. Severus walked over to the fireplace and got down the container with floo powder.

"Who's going first?" Severus asked the teens.

"I will," Draco replied.

"All right, make sure that you go wherever the headmaster asks you. I imagine all the children will be outside while we are working on the wards that Albus wishes to strengthen."

"All, including Ron?" Harry asked with a weird expression on his face.

Severus sighed impatiently. "Yes, including the youngest Mr. Weasley. You three had better be sure to behave yourself, because if any of you get into any trouble while we are there, then the rest of your summer, you will be wishing to be in Voldemort's hands. Now get moving!"

Everyone made a face as Draco grabbed a handful of floo powder hurriedly. Within a few minutes, all of them were standing in the Weasleys's living room.

"Hope! Harry! Draco!!" Hermione yelled as she rushed forward to hug her friends.

"How are you guys doing?" She asked, looking at Hope.

"We're all fine, Hermione. It's only been two days since you've seen us. How are the party plans going?"

Hermione sighed. "Ginny's been at a friends house all week, so I've not gotten very far. Do you think that we could work on them today while the adults are working?"

Hope smiled. "Sure, Hermione. We need to get a definite guest list done today so I can send out the invitations."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "When are we going shopping for the dresses?"

"The weekend before. You and Ginny are going to come over the night before the ball and decorate with me, right?"

Hermione nodded against as the adults walked into the room.

"I think it's time for you children to make your way outside. My sons are already out there on those broomsticks," Mrs. Weasley said.

Hope nodded, but Hermione's inquisitive nature got the better of her. "Surely you can't be ready to reconstruct the wards yet. The old ones are still up, and I read that you have to…"

"Ms. Granger, we are all aware of how wards are constructed," McGonagall snapped.

"Now, now, Minerva. Curiosity has not killed anyone yet," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "No, Hermione, we are not ready to replace the wards. It will be several hours before we reach that point. However, it will be easier to do the necessary tasks now without children in our way."

Hermione looked ready to ask more questions, but Hope smiled at everyone before clamping her hand over her best friend's mouth. "We'll be outside if anyone needs us," she said before dragging Hermione outside. She looked up and saw the majority of the boys flying and longed for an instant to be up there with them.

Instead, she took a seat on one of the chairs and pulled a piece of parchment toward her. She and Hermione discussed the guest list until an hour later when Draco and Harry flew down to the ground, along with all the Weasleys who were playing.

"Hey, Harry, Draco, come here!" Hope yelled.

Both jogged over to her and Hope handed them the list. "Can you think of anyone else?"

Both glanced at the list and shook their heads. Hermione rolled the list up and stuck it in her pocket before glancing at her watch.

"According to what I read, the adults should be getting ready to take a break. Once they introduce everyone to the existing wards, they must wait an hour to take them down, otherwise it won't work properly. We'll probably be eating lunch during that hour break."

Everyone shook their head at the girl before playing some more games. As if to prove Hermione correct, Dumbledore came out a half hour later to inform the group that lunch was ready.

All seven teens rushed inside. Hope was about to sit down when she felt someone behind her. She turned around and found herself standing in front of a very nervous Ron.

"Hello, Ronald," Hope said politely.

"Hey, Hope. I was wondering if I could talk to you and Harry for a couple minutes."

Hope glanced around until she saw Harry. He seemed to understand what she wanted because he nodded and went into the living room. Hope turned back to Ron.

"I guess so. Is the living room okay?"

Ron nodded, so she led the way. She waited for Ron to start talking as she leaned against the wall.

"Look, I owe both of you an apology. I was a complete and total git last year, and I've felt horrible since then."

Hope glanced at Harry and raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly are you sorry for, Ron?" Harry asked.

Ron looked at his shoes. "For accusing Hope of trying to poison herself. For telling you she was using you to get popular. For being so uncaring about everything that was happening, and even for being so rude to everyone, including Malf…I mean Draco."

Hope stared at the boy while Harry spoke. "That's quite a list."

"Yeah, I know. But will you accept my apology?" He asked, looking up.

"Ron, when have I ever turned down an apology?" Hope asked, pushing off from the wall. "All I ask is that you are nicer to everyone, and you understand that we won't be as close as we were."

Ron nodded, already expected that. He turned to Harry. "What about you?"

Harry took a step toward Ron. "Apologize to Draco, and then I will be more than happy to accept your apology."

Ron looked hesitant before nodding and turning to go into the kitchen. He walked up to where Draco was sitting and looked at Harry, who was standing in the doorway. Looking defeated, he said something to the blonde. Draco listened and gave a curt nod before Ron walked to his seat and sat down. Hope and Harry shared a surprised look before going to sit at the table themselves.

As soon as the two sat down, all of the adults abruptly rose and shared worried looks. Severus looked at the headmaster who began chanting an old spell before looking even more worried.

"How many?" Severus asked.

"Around fifty. I'm going to go alert the Order. We only have a few minutes before they arrive."

"What about the children?" Molly asked.

Dumbledore sighed. "Sending them through the floo would be more danger than they would be in here. Send them into the back yard if they do not wish to fight. Otherwise, they are all strong witches and wizards and we certainly could use the help."

Molly nodded, turning white. All the teens looked at each other, before standing and brandishing their wands. The odds were not good. Fifty trained death eaters against five fully trained wizards and seven teenagers.

Everyone knew when the wards broke because of the ringing that permeated the house. Severus turned to his children and Harry. "All of you need to be extremely careful. Try to avoid the fighting, especially once the Order shows up."

All three nodded and winced as the front door was blown down. With another spell, the house was in flames and everyone was forced into the backyard.

Hope looked around at all the fighting while dodging a brown curse thrown at her. She saw Hermione having problems fighting the two death eaters who had teamed up on her and shot a quick curse to help. Sometime later, both were bound and tied to a tree, and Hermione and Hope made their way back toward the main battle.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Dumbledore was fighting five death eaters, Harry and Draco were circled by another ten, and Ron was fighting two. Kingsley, who had shown up at some point with Tonks, Lupin and Moody, was working against four, while the other three and Minerva were trying to keep up with ten more. Severus was surrounded completely by seven, and Fred, George and their parents battled a group of ten.

Hope shook her head and looked at Hermione. "Go help Draco and Harry. I'll help the headmaster and then my father. Be careful!"

Hermione nodded and made her way toward the two boys while dodging curse. Once Hope saw her fighting alongside the two boys, she began to make her way to Dumbledore. Together they bound the five death eaters to the tree with only a couple cuts and bruises to themselves.

Hope looked around again and felt a little better. Everyone was evenly matched for the most part. Her father still had around five death eaters around him, but now Dumbledore was assisting him. Trusting that they could take care of themselves, Hope made her way over to Ron, Harry, Draco and Hermione. The boys all looked fine, but Hermione was hit with a nasty curse in the arm.

Hope went forward and grabbed Hermione's arm. Placing her hand directly over the wound, she allowed her magic to flow from her hand into Hermione's wound and watched as it healed.

"Thanks," Hermione said, circling her arm.

Hope nodded and looked around with a feeling in her stomach. She turned back to the group in front of her, feeling slightly weaker from the magic she had just exerted. "Ron, go help your family. Hermione, Draco, go help Severus and the headmaster." They nodded and took off in separate directions. Hope turned back to Harry, who looked grim.

"Harry?" She asked, putting her wand in its holster. "Are you okay, because I need to go heal people?"

Harry shook his head. "Stay with me."

Hope looked confused. "Why?"

"Because he's here, Hope."

"Who is?"

"Voldemort."

Just then the two heard an evil cackle from behind him. Turning around, they found themselves staring into a pair of blood red eyes.

"What do you want now?" Hope asked the evil creature. "You already said you weren't interested in killing me yet."

Voldemort laughed again. "I'm not, not yet anyway. But I thought it'd be interesting to see the look on your face when those you love die."

This time, Hope laughed. "Like who? Can you not tell that we are winning?"

"Oh true. My death eaters were only after two people tonight." He took the time to smirk at her. "Your brother and your father."

Hope's face drained of all color.

"Go ahead, Hope. Turn around and see what position your family is in."

Hope turned around and heard Harry gasp beside her. Draco, Hermione, and Ron were surrounded, but all the wands were pointed at Draco. Hope felt tears come to her eyes as she looked for Severus, who was lying in a pool of his own blood.

"NO!" Hope yelled. "Where's everyone else!?"

"Preoccupied with another attack. There were only a few death eaters left, and your father believed he could handle them. Unfortunately, those few unbound and revived those who were on the trees." Voldemort said with an evil grin. "Why don't we watch Lucius as he gets the honor of finishing of his traitorous son?"

Hope had tears falling down her face. Harry wrapped an arm around her and felt her tremble. Hope shrugged off his arm and turned to face Voldemort.

"You evil, sadistic bastard! Screw waiting until I'm trained, I'm going to kill you right now!" She yelled, pulling out her wand.

Voldemort waved his wand and hers flew into his hand. He smirked until his face contorted in pain, and he screamed throwing her wand on the ground by her feet. Holding up his hand, Hope saw that he had an angry red burn where her wand had previously been.

"What power is that?" Voldemort asked angrily, drawing the attention of death eaters. "Even your mother could not do that. See the future, sure, talk to animals, easily. But she couldn't charm her wand to burn anyone who touched it."

Hope bent down and grabbed her wand. "It's not a charm. My wand has phoenix tears. Anyone except for me touches it, and they get a nice reminder never to do it again. That's going to scar by the way."

Voldemort's face contorted with rage. He lifted his wand and yelled "Crucio!" Hope fell to the ground in pain as Voldemort held the curse.

"Stop!" Harry yelled, his wand pointed at Voldemort.

"Young Harry, do you want to play also?" Voldemort asked, still holding the curse.

"I want you to remove the curse before I curse you!"

Hope whimpered under the continuous pain. Harry waved his wand, following the steps Severus showed them at the beginning of the summer. He watched the spell hit Voldemort and as the sick creature let out a scream of pain and fury as he broke the curse on Hope.

Harry went to Hope's side and raised her to her feet. Voldemort narrowed his eyes before turning toward the group of death eaters.

"Kill Him!" He ordered to one of them waiting.

"With pleasure, my Lord," the voice of Lucius Malfoy replied back, coldly.

"NO!" Hope and Harry yelled as a green light flew towards the blonde teen. Instead of hitting its target, however, it was intercepted by a red headed figure.

"RON!" Harry yelled as he and Hope ran over. Hope pushed Draco towards Hermione and leaned down next to the figure. She put her hands over him, even though she knew it was hopeless.

"Ron, please, wake up!" Hope screamed when no magic came out of her hands. "Please!!!"

"Hope, move!" Harry yelled as she pushed her. She felt a curse hit her leg and pain exploded. She looked down to see blood staining her white pants.

"So much for not having to fight today," Hope muttered.

"ENOUGH!" Voldemort yelled. "We got what we came for. Two of her loved ones are dead. Send up the mark and let's leave."

A murmured spell later, the death eaters were leaving and a Voldemort's mark was floating in the sky. Harry got up and helped Hope before walking looked at Ron.

"He's gone."

Hermione started screaming through her tears as Draco pulled her close.

"What…what about my dad?" Draco asked, crying for the first time any of them remembered.

"I don't know, let me check," Harry replied.

"I want to." Hope said, limping over to him. She knelt down to the ground in front of him, ignoring the blood that seeped through her pants. She checked for a pulse before sighing in relief.

"He's alive!" She yelled to Draco. "Just barely, but he's alive."

"Where's everyone else?" Draco yelled, frustrated as everyone came over to her. "He needs help."

"What do you think I am?" Hope asked scathingly.

"Hope, you can't!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Why not? What else am I supposed to do, let him die?"

"You could kill yourself if you do this," Harry responded worriedly. "You were under the Cruciatus for several minutes, and are losing a lot of blood. Plus you've already healed Hermione, and you've been fighting all day. You don't have the energy."

Hope was extremely angry and upset. "I have to heal him! If I don't, then he'll die. Nobody else is here."

Just then a series of pops surrounded them as everyone came back. Every single person had bloody robes and looked exhausted. Molly was cradling one of the twins, who appeared unconscious, while the other trailed behind them with a sad look. Dumbledore was sitting down, pain obvious in his features. McGonagall, Lupin, Tonks, and Kingsley were also all in obvious pain.

"Guys, I have to heal him or almost everyone here will die. This is my gift, let me use it."

Everyone hesitated but nodded. Hope positioned her hands over her father's chest. "Harry, I need you to get behind me. Hermione and Draco get on the other sides. I don't want the adults to see this. Most of them don't know I can heal."

Everyone positioned themselves as a bright blue light came out of Hope's hand. Slowly it turned a dark blue to match her eyes, and everyone gasped except Hope, whose eyes were closed. It took several minutes before she removed her hands, yet Severus still didn't wake.

"Hope, why isn't he waking up? He can't be dead!" Draco exclaimed frantically.

Hope leaned back against Harry who had kneeled down. "He's not completely healed yet Draco. I had to rest for a minute. I won't let him die. I need him too much, we all do."

Hope closed her eyes for a few seconds before leaning back over. Harry kept a supported hand on her shoulder but she brushed it off. "I'll accidentally pull some of your magic if you touch me," she said as a way of explanation. Repositioning her hands, she watched her father's face for any sign of awakening.

"Come on, wake up," she muttered, feeling extremely weak.

Severus eyes fluttered open. He looked confused and tried to sit up, but Hope's tired voice stopped him.

"Stay down, Dad. I'm not done."

He smiled at his daughter while everyone else looked at her with a surprised expression. Finally, Hope pulled back and sagged against Harry before noticing all the looks.

"What?" She asked, exhausted. "And hurry, because Fred, the headmaster, and McGonagall all need help as well."

Severus' pride showed clearly on his face while he stood. "You called me Dad. It was the first time it's happened."

Hope thought about it before smiling herself. "I guess that's because it's the first time you've almost died on me. Now get your potions and go help the headmaster and McGonagall. I'll go heal Fred." Hope looked sad. "She can't lose another son tonight."

Severus nodded and helped his daughter to her feet, giving her a worried expression when she almost fell.

"I'm fine. Just tired. Go."

Hope let Harry help her over to where Mrs. Weasley was sitting. She was lying next to Ron's body with Fred's body pulled close to her. She looked up at Hope and Harry.

"He won't stop bleeding. I can't lose him, too. Not so soon." Hope kneeled down next to her, wincing.

"I can help. Show me where he's bleeding."

Molly lifted Fred's shirt to show a huge gash in his stomach. Hope placed her hands once again and watched the wound close. Seconds later Fred opened his eyes.

Molly gathered her son close while thanking Hope profusely. Hope stood again with Harry's help and leaned against him heavily.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm so sorry about Ron. I never meant to put anyone in danger. I would have taken his place if I could," Hope said sadly, with tears coming to her eyes. "Please don't hate me. You're the only thing close to a mother that I have left."

"Oh, Hope darling. It's not your fault. Not at all. You saved Fred, how can I hate you?"

Hope went to respond but was interrupted as Draco came over and interrupted. "Hope, Dad needs you. Apparently, the headmaster is worse off than we thought."

Hope sighed and made her way slowly over to her father. He looked at her worriedly before rising to meet her.

"Hope, are you okay?" She nodded. "Do you have enough energy to heal the headmaster? He'll survive if not, but it'd be helpful to have him fully healed so he can help clean up the mess."

Hope nodded hesitantly. She went to the headmaster's side, and for one last time that day, she placed her hands over his chest and let her magic work. She closed her eyes pushing every last ounce of energy into healing him. She felt someone grab her hands. Opening her eyes, she stared into Dumbledore's sparkling blue ones. "I'm okay now, Hope," he whispered, gently.

Hope pulled away and fell backwards onto the ground. The world around her was spinning and her leg was on fire with pain.

"Hope!" Voiced all around her echoed. She tried to focus but it only made everything worse. She felt someone kneel in front of her, and managed to make out her father's worried expression.

"Hope, are you okay?"

Hope shook her head no, and then regretted it as the world spun even faster.

"Sir, she was held under the Cruciatus curse for several minutes, and hit in the leg with a curse. You can't see it now because she was kneeling in your blood, but she was bleeding heavily. Then she healed Hermione earlier, you, Fred, and now the headmaster," Harry spoke quietly.

"Lea, you foolish child," Severus admonished gently as he carefully picked up her. "When will you learn your limits? You'll be lucky if you don't end up having to relearn how to use your leg."

Hope winced. "Sorry, Dad."

"Shush, child. We'll get you healed and everything fixed up. I'm proud of you."

Hope smiled at those words before leaning her head back. "'m tired, Dad."

Severus jerked to a stop, causing Hope to moan. "Hope, you have to stay awake. At least until we get some potions in you. Can you do that for me?"

"Why?" Hope muttered.

Severus sighed. "You just do, child."

Hope nodded, but buried her face in her father's robes. She felt safe with him carrying her and came close to falling asleep. He entered what was remaining of the house and told Hermione something that Hope couldn't understand before gently lying Hope on a comfortable couch. Hope grabbed on to his robes.

"No," she muttered.

"Lea, I have to put you down to give you your potions."

"No, I almost lost a third parent. Please, just stay," Hope cried, letting tears leak out.

Severus locked eyes with her and saw the barely buried fear. "Okay, Lea. It's okay." He shifted her enough to take off his outer robes. "Draco, can you get into those and get out the potions. She needs the pink one and the purple one. Then the headmaster needs to look at the curse that hit her leg before we can give her anything else."

Draco nodded and got the vials out of the robes. He was also very upset by what had happened today, but he knew how much Hope needed their father right now. He would be able to talk with him later, after Hope was asleep.

Severus was murmuring things to the crying girl after administering the potions when the headmaster entered.

"Is she okay?" He asked worriedly.

Severus shook his head. "Can you check out her leg? I didn't want to risk using a potion that would react badly with whatever curse they used."

Albus nodded and went forward the lift the girl's pant leg up. The ugly gash was large and in the shape of a circle. It was clear that it had torn through muscle and ligaments by the bone that was exposed.

"I don't see how she walked on this, Severus."

Severus winced. "She's determined. She selfless, as we already know. She was more worried with saving everyone than she was herself."

Albus nodded and began to chant old magic. Everyone watched in amazement as the skin wound itself back together over Hope's leg as Hope whimpered from the pain.

"You can give her a pain potion now, Severus, and I would suggest a dreamless sleep as well. She needs a lot of rest in the next few days, but she'll be fine. I'll send Poppy over tomorrow to take a closer look at the leg."

"You mean, you didn't heal it?" Hermione asked, staring at the place where the skin had just grown.

"No, dear Hermione. I only replaced the skin. She will have to regrow all the muscle back herself. Her leg might as well be useless until she learns to use it again."

Everyone was crestfallen at that news. They nodded sadly as Severus gave the girl more potions. Soon, she was asleep.

"Take the children home, Severus."

"No, you need me here."

"All we are doing tonight is finding a place for the Weasleys to stay. The rest will wait until we are all well."

"They can stay at my manor. We have six rooms that are not in use."

Albus smiled at the man he considered a son. "Thank you Severus. I shall bring them there in a few. It should just be Molly, Arthur, and the twins. Ginny, Bill and Charlie should be showing up as soon as they hear the news of poor Ronald, and I imagine Ginny will stop by tonight. Do you mind if Hermione also stays, rather returning home and putting her parents in danger?"

"She's welcomed as well; we'll work on rooming once they get there."

"Very well. We'll be there shortly. Put Hope to bed, and make sure the other two are alright."

"I want to go with them, headmaster. Please?"

"Hermione, they need time to get everything settled."

"It's fine, headmaster. She may be of some help," Severus said.

Albus nodded before turning and walking back outside to join all the Weasleys. Severus stood with the now sleeping Hope in his arms and led the other three teens to a place where they could rest and recover from the long day.

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A/N: Hey Everyone. I'm so sorry about the long wait. It's been so chaotic lately. My boyfriend and I broke up, my best friend tried to kill herself, my other friend wrote me a good bye letter threatening to kill himself, I've been working twice as many hours as normal, schoolwork is increasing, and about a million other things. So I'm extremely sorry that I've not updated. I'm not sure how long it will be until I can update again. I promise it won't be like a month, but it will be more than a week. Maybe like two. Sorry!!! Let me know what you think, please???  
Kayla


	8. Chapter Eight: Conflicting Emotions

Disclaimer: I don't own this.

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Chapter Eight: Conflicting Emotions

Dumbledore, Severus, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Draco, Hermione, Harry, Fred and George were all gathered in the sitting room at Snape Manor two hours later.

"If the twins are willing to share a room, then we will have enough rooms for everyone once Ginerva, Charlie, and Bill arrive." Severus said tiredly.

Fred and George nodded, showing that they agreed, so Severus continued. "Harry and Draco, you already know where you rooms are located, so I expect you to assist the others in finding theirs and getting settled in."

The two teens looked confused. "How do we know who gets what room?" Harry asked.

Severus rubbed his head. "Names are on gold plates on the doors. This way we don't have people who accidentally wander into the wrong room when looking for someone."

Both nodded and stood. The twins followed Harry while Draco escorted Hermione. Everyone was still very quiet.

Dumbledore turned toward the adult Weasleys. "When will the others be arriving?"

Molly's eyes filled with tears again. "Billy, Ginny, and Charlie should be here within the hour. Percy never responded to our owl, so we don't have any idea if he will come."

"If he does, I'll switch rooms around so he has a place to stay," Severus said, to reassure her that her son would be welcomed.

"I know, Severus. We thank you for all the trouble you have gone through for us."

Severus waved it off. "You're welcome here, and the children will all need each other. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and check on my daughter."

Albus nodded and rose as well. "Rest for tonight. Planning can always wait until tomorrow." The two nodded solemnly and the old wizard joined Severus in Hope's bedroom.

Hope was tossing and turning in a restless sleep. "No, not Draco…" she muttered.

Albus and Severus both looked at each other. Severus walked over and sat on the bed before gently shaking her awake. The disoriented girl jerked awake and looked around the room, before locking eyes with Severus.

"You're alive?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

Severus pulled her hands away from her eyes. "I'm very much alive, thanks to you."

Hope looked around again. "What about Draco and Harry?"

"Both fine as well."

Hope saw the sadness in both eyes. "You're lying! Where are they? I want to see them!" She pushed back the covers and rose out of the bed only to wince and shift her weight to her left leg.

"Hope, lie back down and I shall get them for you."

Hope shook her head. "No. Something is going on and I want to go and see them now. Otherwise they will hide what's going on."

"Hope, be realistic! You ignored the curse for too long and because of that, you can't walk!"

"At least I'm alive! It's more than I can say for Ron. He died because of me. You and Draco almost died too! Please, I need to see them."

Dumbledore interrupted. "Severus, don't isolate her. Let her reach out to her friends."

Severus looked torn. "When's Poppy coming?"

Dumbledore looked at his watch. "In about ten minutes. She can examine her anywhere, Severus. Take Hope to Draco's room. I'll tell Harry to go there. When Poppy arrives, I'll take her to his room rather than here."

Severus nodded before going to Hope's side. "You need to take my hands. Keep the weight off of your leg as much as possible."

Hope nodded and did as he said. Dumbledore watched as they slowly left the room before going in search of Harry. He found him in the room for Fred and George.

"I know how you guys feel. Ron was a prat at times, but he didn't deserve to die." Tears came to Harry's eyes. "We just started talking again. He apologized right before the attack. I told him to apologize to Draco, and to be nicer to him. If I hadn't of done that, Ron would still be alive."

"But young Draco would be dead. There was no good outcome to this. It's not your fault, Harry."

Harry looked at the headmaster and nodded jerkily.

"Hope is awake and wants to see you. She's in her brother's room." He turned to the twins. "And for you two, get some sleep. It's going to be a hard couple of days. Maybe a couple of jokes would make things easier?"

The twins looked at each other and grinned. "Yes Sir!"

Dumbledore laughed. "Let's go, Harry."

Harry reached Draco's room at the same time Hope and Severus did.

"Hey, Hope."

"Harry!" She let go of Severus to give him an awkward hug. "Are you okay?"

Harry laughed as he took her weight. "I'm fine, you're the one who can't walk."

Hope pulled slightly away and stuck her tongue out at him.

Harry laughed again and helped her into Draco's room. Draco looked up out of surprise. Everyone saw the anger and despair on his face before he pushed it away and smiled sadly. "Hey, lil sis," he said, opening his arms for a hug.

Hope, instead of going toward him, stepped backwards into Severus, who was confused by the act.

"Hope?" Severus asked.

She looked up at him before looking back at Draco, then at the ground.

"Hope!" Severus said harshly, letting his exhaustion get the better of him.

Hope jerked away and almost fell, but Harry caught her. He turned her to face him, ignoring everyone's astonished looks. Her face was pale and tears fell down her cheeks. He held her upright with one arm and used the other hand to make her look at him.

"Hope, what's wrong?" He asked gently.

Hope looked accusingly at Severus. "You told me he was fine!"

"What?" All three of them asked in confusion.

"Hope, I am fine," he replied, taking a step toward her.

"No, you're not!" She yelled. "When we came in you were mad. I'm sorry, Draco! I didn't mean to hurt anyone," she finished in a whisper.

"Hope, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at my father – my birth father – and the Dark Lord. Never you."

"He almost killed you. I couldn't stop him." She had tears pouring out of her eyes. "And now Ron is dead because of me."

"Hope, that's not your fault. Ron made the choice to jump in front of the curse," Harry whispered to her.

"They were there because of me, though! I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be a part of this war!"

"Unfortunately, even if you 'quit', Voldemort will still try to kill you," Dumbledore said from the doorway. Madam Pomfrey was behind him.

Hope looked even worse than she had earlier. Poppy rushed into the room, immediately bustling orders.

"Sit her down. She should never have been out of bed in her condition." Harry helped her over to Draco's bed and then backed off to let the mediwitch work.

Everyone watched as she made complicated movements with her wand. She finished and addressed everyone.

"She'll be fine. Potions won't be of much use any longer, however. They will take away the edge of the pain for awhile. From what I can tell, she was both magically and physically exhausted when she was administered a dreamless sleep potion three hours ago. That potion alone should provide for twelve hours of peaceful sleep. Because of the healer in her, she can't use potions or heal herself. The stronger she becomes, the more useless potions will be on her."

"So, how do we heal her?" Severus asked, confused.

"With time and spells. In cases, such as with her leg, we will have to resort to using muggle methods."

Everyone nodded except Hope and Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave Hope a critical look and looked like he was about to say something, but Hope cut him off.

"Wait, so you mean I'll have to used crutches or something until I can walk again? No way!"

Poppy shrugged. "Then you'll be stuck in bed for the rest of your life."

Hope made a face. "Fine, I'll use them."

"I thought you would." She opened a big black bag she'd brought with her. She pulled out a pair of crutches and unshrunk them. "Now, stand so we can get them fitted."

Hope awkwardly got out of Draco's bed. "What about stairs? I don't know how to walk on crutches, much less go up and down stairs on them," she asked as the mediwitch finished adjusting them.

"You will allow people to help you," she responded, putting away her wand and handing Hope the crutches. "I don't want you to go on the stairs by yourself until you are given permission by your father. Understand?"

"Perfectly," Hope spat as she took the crutches and tried them. It was extremely awkward and she was unsteady, but she took a few steps anyway. "Now, can I go back to my room, or do I have to wait for a babysitter?"

"Hope Leanne Collins!" Severus snapped. "Apologize, now!"

"Sorry," Hope rudely spat before turning to her father. She glared at him before leaving the room.

Severus made a sound in his throat after she left.

"Dad, chill," Draco said. "She's got a lot going on right now."

"I completely agree with your son, Severus. Give Hope some space. She's feeling guilt, remorse, fear, relief, and regret. Allow her some time to get things sorted out in her head," Albus replied.

"Does that give her the right to be extremely disrespectful to everyone?" Severus bit back.

"Apparently it does you," Harry said under his breath.

"Potter, get out!" Severus yelled. Harry jumped at his tone.

"Dad, not to make you even madder, but you are ordering people out of _my_ room, for no reason." Draco challenged.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Will both of your please go check on Hope?"

Both looked at each other and shrugged. They walked down to Hope's room and saw Hermione already there and crying all over Hope.

"He told me he was in love with me, but I told him no. Why did I do that?" Hermione cried to her friend.

Hope was sitting next to her. "Because you didn't love him. Just because he's dead doesn't change that, Hermione."

"I know, but it's not like Draco is ever going to ask. He probably still thinks of me as a filthy mudblood."

"Shh…Hermione, you know that's not true. Draco just…well, I don't have an excuse for him, but I know he doesn't think of you as a mudblood."

Hermione cried harder. "What if I lost my chance? Why couldn't I try things with Ron? What if I only said no because of how he was treating everyone? I'll never get to know."

Hope felt tears come to her eyes. "Hermione, you will find love, if my brother is too stupid to ask you, then someone else will."

"That's easy for you to say, you've got Harry."

Hope's shoulders dropped. "Not anymore. I broke up with him, remember?"

Hermione's face showed her regret from that statement. "Oh, Hope, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

Hope shrugged.

"Hello?" A voice yelled from downstairs.

The two girls looked up and saw the boys in the doorway.  
"How long were you standing there?!" Hermione exclaimed.

'Long enough," Harry responded.

"So you think you can just eavesdrop on us now?" Hope yelled.

"Hope, we were coming to check on you!"

"Hello? Is anyone here?" A voice yelled again.

Hope grabbed her crutches and stood. "Whatever. We'll discuss it later. Hermione, can you help me downstairs?"

Hermione nodded and followed Hope to the stairs. She turned and noticed Draco and Harry coming also.

"Let them wait," Hope said, as she tried to maneuver her crutches on the stairs.

Hermione laughed. "Hope, put the crutches on the stairs first, then hop down."

Hope made a face, but tried it anyway. She was about halfway down when another voice yelled. "Hello?"

"We're coming!" Hope yelled.

A couple minutes later, Hope and Hermione entered the living room to see who was there.

"Ginny!" Hermione yelled, rushing toward the teen.

"Hermione, tell me it's not true!" Ginny yelled with tears falling down her face.

"I'm so sorry, Gin," she whispered as the girl ran forward and hugged her.

Hope turned away to find the other voice. "Hi?" She quietly said to an older red head with a pony tail. "You must be Bill or Charlie?"

"Bill, and this is your home?" He asked politely.

"It's actually my father's, Professor Snape."

The look on the boy's face showed his shock, so Hope continued.

"I'm his adopted daughter. Draco is his adopted son."

Bill was clearly unsure of what to say, so he merely nodded.

"Anyway, we should probably go get the adults," Hope murmured.

"I'll get them," Draco said as he started up the stairs.

Hope nodded and turned back to where Ginny was. Harry had joined them at one point and was hugging Ginny while she cried. Hope wasn't prepared for the pang of jealousy that went through her.

She turned away and smiled at Bill. "Feel free to sit. I'm going to go get some drinks for everyone."

She made a pitcher of tea and placed it on a tray along with twelve cups. She took out her wand and spelled the tray to float behind her. She reentered the living room and awkwardly set the tray on the table while balancing on her crutches.

She looked around and noticed everyone was downstairs, but nobody was paying attention to her. Sighing, she balanced on her crutches again to pour tea into the cups. Finishing that, she went to Draco.

"Look, I got some tea poured for everyone. There's even one extra for Charlie when he gets here. I was wondering if you would help me upstairs."

Draco smirked. "Not angry at me any longer?" He asked sarcastically.

Hope sighed. "I am, but I'm angrier at Severus."

Draco made a face. "Hope, he almost died."

"I know, okay? I'm the one who healed him. I know how close he was to death, but you don't have a clue. I'm the one who pushed the energy into him to save his life, and I know it's my fault it happened, so I'm not complaining, but don't remind me what happened because trust me, Draco, I know!" She screamed.

Draco winced as he noticed everyone looking.

"Excuse my daughter's rude outburst," Severus said to everyone. They all slowly returned to their previous conversations while Severus went to where his children were.

"Hope, if you can not control yourself, go up to your room."

"I'm trying to!" Hope exclaimed.

"Nobody is stopping you," and he turned to Draco. "Come, let's pass out drinks to our guests."

Hope watched sadly as they left. "Great," she muttered to herself. "I'm supposed to go to my room without using the stairs."

Shaking her head, she looking for someone else who could help her. Giving up, she decided to ignore the warning the mediwitch had given her earlier. She carefully put her crutches on the first step and jumped up onto it. It was a lot harder without Hermione to help her balance.

About halfway up, Hope was startled by her father's voice. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?!"

Hope jumped and hit her injured leg on the wall, causing her to lose her balance. Severus quickly reached out and steadied her before making her sit on the step.

"Now answer me!" He demanded.

"I was going to my room, like you said," she said quietly, wincing as she moved her leg around.

"I don't believe you are supposed to be on stairs by yourself," he said harshly. "Your attitude desperately needs changed."

Hope sighed, knowing that telling him that Draco was going to help her until he was dragged away to serve drinks would only make things worse. Instead, she looked down and forced respect into her voice. "Yes, sir."

"Why are you acting like such a spoiled brat tonight? The Weasley's are experiencing a trauma, and you are acting selfish rather than supportive."

Hope let all respect fly out the window. "I know they are going through a traumatic experience. I know what I did. I don't need you and Draco constantly pointing out that I got someone killed and almost got two others killed. I feel bad enough, so quit throwing it in my face!"

Severus shook his head. "Let's get you to your room. I'm obviously not going to talk any sense into you."

Hope stood, choosing to ignore the hand he offered, and righted herself on her crutches. She began to finish her trip up the stairs after shrugged off the hand he placed on her arm to help her balance.

After reaching her room, she promptly went to her dresser and pulled out something. She turned and threw it at Severus. "How's that for selfish!" She yelled with tears pouring down her face. "Next time maybe you should think before you say things that aren't true!"

Severus looked at the red thing she had thrown at him. He flipped it over and read the elegant white script on the front of the pillow.

**Ronald Billius Weasley**

**March 1, 1980 – August 2, 1997**

**Beloved Son, Brother, and Friend**

Severus looked at his daughter. "What is this?"

Hope angrily wiped her tears as she sat on her bed. "Really, Severus, are you daft after nearly being killed? It's a pillow. A remembrance pillow."

Severus sat next to her. "Where did you get the idea?"  
Hope went to get up, but Severus stopped her. "Top drawer, there's a secret compartment in the back."

Severus went over there and pulled out a midnight blue pillow. He flipped it over as he sat down again. "It's blank."

Hope shook her head and tapped it with her wand. Letters appeared surrounded by stars and moons.

**Stacy Adams Mark Adams **

**April 27, 1964 – September 7, 1996. January 25, 1962 – September 7, 1996**

**Beloved Parents whom will always be remembered.**

"Ron and Hermione made it for me. A way to remember my parents. I thought Hermione and I could do the same for his parents."

Severus looked sad. "I'm sorry, Hope."

Hope shrugged. "Hermione started it, but it was my idea. I told her I'd finish spelling on the patches tonight so we could present it to Ron's parents right before the funeral."

Severus nodded. "Go ahead and do it. I would like to see the final product."

Hope nodded and pulled out her wand. She waved it around while different images appeared in the pillow.

"Excellent choices. A wand, a broom, surprisingly resembling his own, chocolate frogs, Bernie Botts beans, and a Chudley Cannons logo, but you are forgetting something."

Hope looked confused. "What?"

Severus waved his wand, causing a knight to show up. "That," he said.

"Oh…I forgot about his love for chess."  
Severus nodded. "I'll inform Hermione to come up when she gets a moment."

"Thank you, sir," she said, remembering her fury at him.

Severus let out a long suffering sigh. "What did I do now?"

Hope glared at him. "Nothing, sir. Please leave my room."

"Hope, what's wrong?" He asked with more force in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm going to tell you, and then get a lecture about how selfish I'm acting."

Severus shook his head as he stood. He put both pillows back in their places before closing and warding the door. He knelt on the floor in front of his daughter.

"Hope, you revealed enough with that statement. Why is your tongue so loose tonight?"

Hope rubbed her head. "I don't know. I'm just exhausted. And sore, and worried, and feeling guilty, and some other stuff."

Severus looked at the girl. "What other stuff?"

Hope looked away. "Jealousy, regret, a strong desire to be in his place."

"There's more…" Severus guessed.

"I have a feeling Voldemort's going to come to me in my dreams tonight. I'm afraid to go to sleep, but I know I need the sleep."

Severus put his finger under the girls chin, lifting her head so she'd look at him.

"Let's start at the beginning. You are exhausted because, like the foolish Gryffindor child you are, you completely drained your magic to the point you could barely stay conscious, all while you were sporting a nicely cursed leg."

"I'm Slytherin too!" She objected.

"Yes, but a Slytherin would have saved their own skin, rather than stayed to worry about everyone else."

"Oh…I guess you're right."

"Indeed, now about the soreness, I am unsure of what to do unless you are more specific."

"Oh, well that potion for the Cruciatus aftereffects only helped the trembling, not really the pain. So I'm tender everywhere. But I can deal with that. My leg is the worst."

Severus gave her a sympathetic look. "I will look for a cream for your muscles. As for your leg, the sooner you feel up to the physical therapy, the sooner that'll get better."

Hope nodded. "I was thinking about after the funeral?"

Severus nodded. "What are you worried about?"

"I don't want anyone else to get killed become of me," she answered quietly.

"Ahh…you believe you are guilty for Mr. Weasley's death?"

"I am! If it weren't for me, Ron would still be alive."

"No, Lea," Severus said gently. "Ron is dead because he chose to save your brother. The Weasley's are blood traitors in the Dark Lord's eyes. They were targets before you ever came into the picture."

"But you and Draco..."

"Are traitors. Once again, our choice."

Hope relaxed a little. "Okay, so it's not _completely_ my fault."

"Does the regret also tie in with that?"  
"No. I miss being with Harry."

"I see. Have you talked with him?"

"No, he's too busy with Ginny," she replied, her voice laced with envy.

"Ahh, there's the jealousy."

"He might as well ask her out!" She exclaimed.

"Talk to him, Hope. He's still in the process of reading your journal. He's a very understanding young man, he'll listen."

"I know."

"Good. Now, let me think. What else was there? The desire to die in Ron's place; well, everyone feels the same after a friend dies. But the last thing you mentioned worries me."

"The Voldemort part?"

"Yes. I'll stay in here for the night. At the first sign of him, I will enter your mind and help your occlude."

Hope laughed. "That would be great! He thinks your dead."

"Ahh, but thanks to you, I am not. So you'll be safe. Write in that journal of yours, I'll be back later."

Hope nodded and pulled the book out of a drawer by her bed.

Severus stopped at the door and turned his attention back to his daughter. "Hope?"

"Yes?" She asked, looking up.

"The pillow was extremely thoughtful. Not selfish in the least."

The smile that came across her face let Severus know that all was okay between them. But the words, or rather one word, she said next erased all doubt.

"Thanks, _dad_."

HpHpHpHpHpHp

A couple hours later, Severus levitated several cups, a kettle, and pitcher back to the kitchen, while Albus was eating some sort of candy.

"Hope's a special girl, Severus."

"I know," he whispered.

"I'm afraid she's not yet come into her full powers. Her mother, as you well know, could see the future. And her father performed wandless magic. Both were also able to transform into animals easily."

Severus turned to look at the older man. "How do we know if Hope has inherited these gifts?"

Dumbledore sighed. "We must wait until she's seventeen. If she begins dreaming things that come true, then we will work with her. Otherwise, do not add more stress to the girl."

"So, in January, her power will be shown in full?" Severus asked.

"They will be revealed, but they will still need to be trained."

Severus nodded. "I think she misinterpreted her prophecy. I think she somehow will actually have to choose between Harry and Voldemort. I don't think it's going to be as easy as she thinks."

"Ah, neither do I, Severus. I did, however, find a few spells that may do what they will need. I shall bring the book by tomorrow when I return."

Severus smirked. "You do not have it on you?"

"I do, but I do not wish for you to see it yet. Rest, Severus. I will be by first thing tomorrow."

"Albus, why don't you just stay here for the night?"

"Because you are out of rooms, dear boy."

Severus smiled. "Actually, I promised Hope I'd stay with her tonight, so my room is available. Please, Albus, it'd be helpful if Voldemort does get into Hope's mind again tonight."

Albus stood gracefully. "If you insist. However, I must turn in soon so I'm able to understand the funeral directions tomorrow. I'm not as young as I used to be. Do you need anything else?"

"No. In fact, I'll go up as well."

The two went upstairs. Severus watched as Dumbledore disappeared into his room before smiling and turning into his daughter room where he would spend a hopefully peaceful night.

----------

Hey Everyone! I thank each and every one of your for your patience in waiting for this chapter. I am so sorry it took so long to get out. Everything is going better. My friend is leaning on me still, but she's not had any more ideas about killing herself. Everything else is going better to. I'm still working a lot of hours, and I will be gone this coming weekend, but I _promise _to get the next chapter out by next Monday.

Kayla


	9. Chapter Nine: Arguments

Disclaimer: I don't own this

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Chapter Nine: Arguments

Severus was drinking his third cup of coffee at the kitchen table when Dumbledore came downstairs.

"Good Morning, Severus." Albus cheerily said.

"Good Morning, Albus. Sleep well?" Severus replied while rubbing his eyes.

"It was a very restful night. Did Voldemort visit Hope last night?"

"Luckily, no. She was haunted by normal nightmares last night. In fact, she's in the living room reading a book."

"Oh, is she okay?"

Severus rubbed his head. "Okay from the nightmares? She's fine. From the attack, she's getting worse. I don't understand, the potions aren't working for more than five minutes. I can't get her to work with her leg because she is so tired. I can't help her being tired because she's having nightmares of the attack. I can't help her with the nightmares, because potions only work five minutes. It's an impossible situation."

"Severus, you do realize there is another way of healing her. It's old magic, almost forgotten, but completely safe."

Hope came into the room on her crutches. "Hey, what's up guys?"

"The headmaster was just telling me about an alternate way of healing you other than potions."

"Really?" Hope asked with a pointed look at the headmaster. "Would I not be the person that you told about that?"

The headmaster smiled gently at Hope. "I've already made sure you knew. I am aware of whether or not you read the material I gave you during the school year."

"Well, I don't remember reading about it. Sorry, sir. Would you tell me about it?" Hope asked with a look that dared him to actually explain the process.

"I still need to do more research, but then I will discuss it with you." Albus said, averting his eyes. "Maybe you and your father should discuss it right now."

Albus turned and left the room. Severus and Hope listened until they heard the roar of the fireplace. Then Severus turned to his daughter. "Do you know what he was talking about?

Hope considered telling him, but instead shook her head. "I haven't got the slightest clue." She responded.

Severus watched her carefully. "Are you sure?"

"Positive.' She said, looking at the ground.

Severus sighed. "Okay, maybe he'll be able to find some information on it."

Hope's head shot up. "Why?"

Severus looked at Hope like she was crazy. "Well, unless you like feeling bad then it would be nice to find some way to make you better."

Hope shook her head. "Potions will work on illnesses, just not on injuries. What's wrong with just waiting those out?" She was getting desperate to dissuade him from pursuing the idea.

"Hope, you're not getting better, you're getting worse. You're extremely tired because you have no energy left, yet you can't sleep because of the nightmares. You're grouchy because your tired and it's grating on my nerves. I can see from you're guarded movements that you are still in a lot of pain, and you're still having the after effects of the curses you were hit with. Plus, your leg is going to be difficult to train with."

Hope sighed. "It wouldn't work on my leg anyway."

Severus stood up and went over to his daughter. "Do you know something about it."

Hope tilted her head up so that she was looking into her father's eyes. She let the fear and worry shine through her own eyes. She kept their eyes locked as she replied.

"I know I don't want to try it."

"Hope…"

"No, we're not doing it, and that's final. You can't do it without me, and I refuse. End of subject." She turned around and left the room.

Severus shook his head and went to the bookshelf that held all the books Hope had used while she was training. He pulled one out titled Healing Powers and sat down on the couch to read.

* * *

Hope was sitting on the couch later that night when Dumbledore returned. She looked up and saw the headmaster, shot him a glare, and continued on with reading her book.

"Did you and Severus talk?"

Hope shrugged and turned the page.

"Hope, you're acting like a child. Just answer my question."

Hope glared at the older wizard. "You really were being mature when you went to my father because I didn't want to heal myself."

"You know that you'll die without it!"

"I will not! I was not hit with any life threatening curses. The Cruciatus Curse has some nasty after effects for a healer, but it will not kill me."

"But why put yourself through this if you don't have to?"

"It's none of your concern. You can't do it without my cooperation, because it would be my powers at work and nobody but me knows how to use them, so that rules out the Imperious. There's no reason for a conversation like this one to even be considered because I refuse to do it."

Dumbledore shook his head at the stubborn girl. "You could still change your mind. Give it a few days, wait for the full effects of the curse to take place. Don't think that Severus won't know either. As soon as I brought up the subject I knew he'd research it. All your books are kept on the shelf, are they not?"

Hope glanced at the bookshelf and saw that one of her healing books was missing. She shrugged and hobbled over to the shelf, grabbing a dark black one with silver writing. She turned back to the headmaster.

"He grabbed the wrong one, so I have nothing to worry about. Sure the book he has will explain the process of self healing, but this is the one that lists all the curses that could be dangerous, and the effects. I'll claim to be sick and he won't even know what's happening." Hope said with a smirk as she sat back down and tucked the book under the pillow next to her.

"Hope, think about it. I can get another copy of that book and say you left it lying somewhere. Or I can accio book."

The book flew from under the pillow and into his hand. Hope was enraged. "You can't do that!"

"It's for your own protection, child."

"I still won't do it. I refuse to."

"Why? What are you so afraid of, Hope?"

"Just go give him the damn book and leave me alone."

"Do you want time to tell him yourself?" He asked gently.

"Just get the hell away from me! I hate you!" Hope screamed throwing her book at him. He could see the tears about to fall from her eyes.

"Hope, it won't be that bad, I promise." He said before leaving the room.

Hope buried her head in a pillow and cried.

* * *

Dumbledore found Severus upstairs, closing the book. He rubbed his head and looked at a notebook.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to alert the younger wizard to his presence.

Severus looked up and motioned the headmaster into his room. He looked at the look on his face and sighed. "What's Hope done now?" He asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "She's mad at me for telling you about the healing thing."

Severus shook his head. "I don't understand it. I've read the book, and I have no clue why she's so afraid of trying this. I don't now what she didn't mention it."

Dumbledore pulled the book out of his robe. "This should make it a little bit clearer for you. It is all about self healing. Talks about the effects of it, the history, everything. Hope doesn't want you to read it, but I think it would help you understand her resistance, even if it still puzzles me. You do know her a little more than I do."

Severus took the book and set it on his desk. "I'll read it later, for right now, I need to go downstairs and get the kitchen ready for the Weasley's to begin planning their son's funeral."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "I'm supposed to meet them down there in an hour. They want to hold the funeral in two days at Hogwarts."

Severus nodded. "They're making the final plans tonight. I'm going to make sure that there is enough room and seats for everyone."

Albus nodded. "Talk to Hope before reading that. She's a little upset that I went behind her back. I'll be back in an hour."

Severus glanced at the book, put it in his drawer and locked it before heading downstairs.

* * *

Harry walked by Hope's bedroom and stopped. He put his ear against the door and was surprised to hear someone crying. He knocked softly before opening the door.

"Hope?"

"Harry?" Hope looked up from her bed. "Go away." She muttered, throwing her pillow at him.

He caught the pillow and sat down next to her on her bed. "Hope, what's wrong? Are you crying because of Ron?" Hope shook her head. "Then what?"

"He gave my dad a book. Now he'll want me to heal myself."

Harry was confused. "You can't heal yourself."

"Yes I can. But I don't want anyone to die. Too many people have died from a healer attempting to heal herself. If the healer or the people involved aren't strong enough, one of them end up dying. I don't want to risk it."

Harry smiled and pulled the girl up off her bed. He pulled her into a hug while being careful not to push her weight onto her hurt foot.

"You're surrounded by the most powerful wizards in all the world, and you're the most powerful witch. We're going to bring down Voldemort together. You don't have to worry about anyone being strong enough."

Hope smiled. "I guess so. I still don't want to try it."

"Wait a few days, then talk about it with your dad. It'll all work out."

Hope sighed. "I hope so."

Harry laughed. "It will. Take a nap, the Weasley's are going to be downstairs for the next couple hours and won't want disturbed. I'll intercept your father and tell him not to bug you."

Hope smiled and laid down. Harry pulled the covers over her and went to the door.

"Sweet dreams, Hope." Harry whispered before pulling the door closed.

---------------------------

A/N: I got a yahoo group!!!!!!!!!!!! Since I've been so busy and life's been just crazy lately, there you can find (soon) updates on when the chapters will be posted, as well as previews for the next chapter, polls so you can have a say in what happens next in the chapter. Here's the link:  
http://tech.groups. you all join!!

Kayla


	10. Chapter Ten: Goodbyes Are Always Hard

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter Ten: Goodbyes are Always Hard

Hope awoke to something jumping on her bed. She squinted her eyes and caught a flash of white and black fur before she felt a rough tongue on her face. She sat up while pushing the animal back and glaring at her father, who was laughing in the doorway. The animal leapt up and tried to lick her face again.

"Sasha, stop!" Hope said, as she heard another person laughing at her doorway.

Sasha growled at Hope and settled for licking her hand. After a few seconds, she curled up in a ball on her owner's lap and fell asleep. Hope shook her head and turned toward the door, where Draco, Harry and her father were all standing.

"Not that I'm upset, but why is Sasha here? Hagrid is supposed to keep her all summer."

Severus entered the room and walked over to pet the miniature white tiger.

"Hagrid was leaving for a mission Dumbledore sent him on," he informed his confused daughter.

"Oh, but you don't want her in your house," Hope remarked quizzically.

"Sasha is better than the twins, and it isn't fair for me to ban you from having your pet here. I just didn't want you distracted while we were training."

Hope smiled and hugged her father, causing the animal to growl again in frustration at being jarred.

"Oh, quit whining, Sasha," Hope exclaimed, exasperated at the animal. "If you have something to say, say it!"

Sasha just purred and curled up into a tighter ball on Hope's lap.

Hope looked up at her father and asked, "What are we doing today?"

Severus shrugged. "I don't have any plans, other than reading a book and assisting with funeral arrangements."

Hope winced. "What book are you reading?"

"You know very well what book. And I believe Harry should be in on this conversation. Since you think that we are _weak_ wizards."

"I do not! I just don't want to risk it. Besides, it wouldn't have to be you two. It could be anyone else, like the headmaster, or Hermione."

Severus pulled the book out of the pocket of his robe. He opened it to a page and began reading out loud.

"Self healing requires a lot of energy from the person who is attempting the self healing. It takes the healing energy that was used to heal the person, and pushing it back into the healer. Because of the physical toll taken on the persons being healed, the healer should use the strongest of the people being healed. One is required to have been healed during the past month, and another who was healed before the past month."

Hope looked at him curiously. "What are you trying to prove?"

Severus sighed. "Hope, name all the people you healed before a month ago."

Hope bit her lip. "Harry, minor injuries on Hermione and Draco while we were practicing, a kid on the Quidditch team who broke his arm, that's it."

"And out of all of those, who actually had to be healed to prevent death?"

"Just Harry," Hope sighed.

"So only Harry would have enough healing energy inside of him to do you any good."

"True, but Harry's an extraordinary wizard. He wouldn't be harmed in the healing process, but what if we're attacked afterwards?"

"Trust my wards not to fall."

Hope shook her head. "Even if Harry is strong enough to do it, that doesn't mean the other person is."

Severus looked offended. "Are you telling me, you believe a seventeen year old wizard to be more powerful than myself?"

Hope looked confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, I'm the one you put most of your healing powers into recently. That would leave me the best choice for the second half of the healing."

Hope looked at him in shock. "No way. You almost died because of me once. I refuse to let it happen again."

Severus cupped Hope's face in her hands, forcing her to look at him. "I will not die. None of us will, except for you, if you ignore this."

Hope shook her head. "I'm not going to die."

Severus turned the page and pointed to a paragraph. "Read this out loud, Hope."

"Healers are very vulnerable to specific curses and hexes. They are resistant to potions, so they do not have the means necessary to heal certain spells that are deadly for wizards if not treated. One of the worst curses known to healers is the Cruciatus curse. It slowly tears down the healer's body, making it vulnerable to even muggle diseases. Any weak curse thrown at the healer during this vulnerable state would cause the healer to go into shock and result in death."

Hope looked at Severus. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"To get you to realize the truth. We can't wait much longer. We're going to do it after the funeral, the day after. I can't risk losing you, Lea. Please tell me you'll do it."

Hope closed her eyes against the coming tears. She nodded reluctantly and felt her father squeeze her hands. Harry squeezed her shoulder before standing up. She felt her father release her hand and stand. Hope curled up against Sasha and closed her eyes, letting her tears fall.

* * *

Hope stood nervously outside of the entrance hall, waiting for the Weasleys to arrive. She felt someone standing behind her and smiled sadly at Hermione.

"You ready?" She asked.

Hope shook her head. "I don't know how they will react to it. I mean, first I get their son killed, then save their other son, and then I go up to them with a pillow to remember their son by? I have got to be crazy."

Hermione pushed her into the room. "They will appreciate it. Now go, there is only a couple minutes left before the funeral starts."

Hope sighed and allowed Hermione to lead her over to where the Weasley parents were standing near Dumbledore. Hope went up and stood next to Mr. Weasley. When he turned to look at her, she pushed down her nervousness and held out the pillow.

"Hermione and I made this for your family," Hope said as he took it. She pulled out her wand and activated it. "It's programmed to only work for Hermione and my wands right now, but you can add certain wands. All you have to do is activate it and touch the person's wand to the pillow and it will be able to work with a touch of its wand. We thought it might be helpful to have something to remember him and everything he stood for."

Mrs. Weasley grabbed Hope and Hermione into a huge hug while crying even harder.

"Girls, thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. Your parents must be extremely proud of you."

Hope sighed and turned away once she was released from the hug. She went and sat in the second row, saving seats for her father, Harry and Draco. Hermione sat down a seat away from her and smirked. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Hope sighed. "I guess not."

Hermione looked at her. "What's wrong, Hope?"

Hope turned toward Hermione, showing the tears in her eyes. "How many more funerals are we going to have to attend, Hermione?"

Hermione immediately understood. "Hope, we're in a war. People die. It's inevitable."

Hope lashed out at her friend. "This is only the first person you've lost in this war. I lost both sets of my parents. I had to watch my adoptive parents be murdered right in front of me! I had to watch as muggles were killed because I wouldn't bow down. Draco almost got killed, my father almost died, and now Ron. Who else?"

Hermione let her eyes fill with tears for her friend. "Hope, I know it's hard. That's why we're training you so hard. If we don't, then Voldemort will just keep killing the one's we love."

Hope nodded but refrained from replying as her father came over to sit down. Harry sat in between Hope and Hermione, while Draco chose to sit beside Hermione. Her father sat on her other side.

Severus and Harry kept watching Hope closely during the service. They understood how hard she was taking the guilt of Ron dying. They didn't expect what happened at the end of the service.

Dumbledore waved his hand and a white candle appeared on a gold stand. He continued to explain what it was.

"This is an eternal candle. After being lit, it will continue to burn on forever as long as there is someone who cares for the person who it was lit for." He turned toward the Weasley family. "Being the remaining family members of Ronald, you are to choose who will light the candle."

Everyone watched as they collaborated quietly. Finally Mr. Weasley stood and whispered into the headmaster's ear.

Dumbledore turned to the crowd once again. "Hope Collins is to light the candle. Hope, if you would please come forward."

Hope stayed rooted to her seat as tears came to her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but they fell uncontrollably down her face.

"Hope, please, go," Hermione whispered, nudging her.

Hope slowly stood, using her crutches and made her way to the front of the room. She accepted the smaller white candle from Dumbledore and brought it down to the wick of the other candle. She turned toward the casket and whispered, "Rest in peace, Ronald. We love you."

She turned and hobbled out of the room completely. She kept going until she reached her father's quarters in the dungeons. Needing just a little bit of time to herself, she curled up on the couch and watched the rain falling outside.

* * *

Severus searched the castle three hours later, trying to find his daughter. They had gone home after the funeral, hoping she had gone there, but was surprised to find the house empty. After allowing everyone else entrance, he floo'd back to Hogwarts to search for the girl.

Running out of ideas, he went down to his quarters to find a tracking potion. He walked toward the living room and saw his daughter sitting against the window sill, watching the storm rage outside.

He went and put a hand on her shoulder and she turned her head to look at him. He was shocked at her tearless face.

"It's like the storm can understand how I'm feeling. The rain represents the tears for the sadness at the loss, the thunder at the anger for the way he was killed, and the lightening for the vengeance that will be dealt out. Three emotions all in one."

"Hope, you need to come home."

Hope shook her head. "I want to stay here. It's not storming at home. It's nice at home. It's not supposed to be nice. Not during a war."

"Hope, come on. You're tired, you're not thinking straight. The curse is causing you to lose focus on the real world. Come home and sleep so we can heal you tomorrow."

Hope locked eyes with her father so he would know she was perfectly sane. "The curse doesn't make someone lose their mind, Dad. I know what I'm thinking. I just don't know how someone could be so evil."

"Nobody does, Hope. He had a bad childhood. Come on, you will need your sleep tonight."

Hope sighed and made her way over to the fireplace. She leaned against her dad so she wouldn't be spit out of the fireplace and do further damage to her leg.

Severus escorted Hope upstairs before going to his room to get something. Hope hobbled into her room and sat on the end of her bed. She lazily flicked out her wand and waved it so her clothes changed into comfortable pajamas. She pulled out her journal and wrote a quick entry, finishing just as Severus reentered, holding a purple jar.

Hope eyed the contents warily as he handed it to her. "What's this?"

Severus laughed. "An amplified Dreamless Sleep. Tomorrow will take a lot out of you. This is ten times the normal strength, so it should at least provide a few hours of sleep."

Hope nodded and locked eyes with her father. "You do realize that after tomorrow, I'll never be able to use a potion again?"

Severus nodded. "Are you worried?"

Hope shook her head. "I just wish I knew how it was going to work. I understand that Draco is going to be helping, and the headmaster is going to be overseeing it all. The book doesn't explain how it works."

"Basically, Albus will walk you through the spell. He went through it with your mother, so he knows what he's doing."

Hope nodded. "I guess I just have to trust him, huh?"

Severus laughed. "I guess, you just have to get some sleep. I'll wake you up early."

Hope shook her head and laid down while her father walked to the doorway. Hope spelled off the lights; not knowing her father stood there and watched her with a smile while she slept.

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A/N: Hey everyone!!! I hope it's all going well. I'm on spring break this week!! Yay!! Okay, I've got the majority of the story planned out, but if you want anything to happen, let me know. I'm also planning a Severus adopts Harry story after this. Okay?   
Review,  
Kayla


	11. Chapter Eleven: Healing Time

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for the plot, the characters, except Hope, belong to JK Rowling's very creative mind. 

Chapter Eleven: Healing Time

Hope was being gently shaken awake by someone. She murmured incoherently and turned over, hoping they would leave her alone. Instead, they chuckled and shook her harder.

"Go 'way," Hope muttered, burrowing her head in her pillow.

"Come on sis, it's noon already. Dad said it's time to get started."

Hope sat up tiredly and rubbed her eyes, feeling even more exhausted than she had the previous day.

"I'm coming," she muttered again as she maneuvered herself around the bed to her crutches. She hobbled out the door Draco was holding open.

"Where are we going?" She asked her brother as he led the way.

"Since everyone has to be watched for at least twenty-four hours afterwards, we decided to use the room upstairs that you can watch Quidditch from. Mrs. Weasley will bring up meals for us all. Dumbledore and I will be in there to begin with, and Hermione will be up there throughout most the day."

Hope nodded as they stopped in front of Harry's door. She chose not to know, and instead pushed the door open and gasped at the sight she saw.

Harry heard a knock at his door and glanced up from his book at the time: 11:40 in the morning. He sighed as he stood up and set the book down on his table before making his way over to the door. He opened it to find a crying Ginny.

"Gin, what's wrong?" He asked, not sure what to do. Hope was one thing when she was crying, but Ginny and Hermione were completely different.

He opened the door and the redhead came in and sat down on his bed. He closed the door and sat down next to her. He waited for her to speak, but ended up saying something instead.

"Gin, why are you crying?"

She looked at him, the tears falling down her face. "It's not fair, Harry. He's gone. He was the one who would wake me up in the morning, or protect me from Fred and George's pranks, or threaten to kill the guys I'm dating. Now, he's not here. It's official that he's not here."

Harry was at a loss of words. He pulled her into a hug and felt his shoulder become wet with tears. After about fifteen minutes, she stopped and pulled away from him, smiling.

"Thanks, Harry."

"Anytime," he replied, hoping it never would happen again. Crying girls just weren't his strategy.

"Hey, since we have the whole family together for once, except Percy, we're going to play Quidditch later. Do you want to join us?"

Harry wished he could, but knew healing Hope would take all day. So instead, he replied he was busy.

Ginny looked put out. "I guess it's okay."

"Sorry, Gin. I really would have loved to, but I already made plans with Hope."

Ginny pouted. "Are you guys dating again?"

Harry sadly shook his head.

The redhead smirked. "Good, because I won't feel guilty about this." She sat up straighter and put her lips against his. Harry was about to pull away when the door opened. A gasp from that direction had the redhead jerk away and stare at the door.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" Ginny rudely said to Hope and Draco.

Hope turned to Harry, her eyes accusing and filling with tears. "Not when I'm expected to be here. Obviously, someone else had something more important to do. Whenever it's convenient for you Harry, we'll be upstairs waiting."

"Hope, wait!" Harry yelled jerking away from Ginny. He went to run out to the hallway but was stopped when Draco pushed his chest roughly. He glared at the teen.

"I don't care that you are over my sister. But the fact that you are willing to risk her health to shag some girl is pathetic. I expected more from the hero of the light. Obviously all the fame has gone to your head. Whenever you can take time away from your pathetic sex life, the people who actually care about my sister will be upstairs waiting," he said with a murderous glare at the boy on the floor.

"Draco, that's not what happened! She kissed me!" Harry tried to explain.

"Whatever, Potter. When you come upstairs, you do not speak to my sister. You do exactly as the spell calls for and then you get the hell away from her and stay away from her. Unless she approaches you, then you leave her alone. Got it?"

Harry glared. "And if I don't?"

"Then I'll save Voldemort the trouble of killing you," he hissed and turned away.

Harry sighed and turned to Ginny. "What the hell were you thinking!? You know I still love Hope, yet you kiss me and get me into some deep shit with her. Merlin, Ginny. I thought you had more self respect than that, but obviously you're some pathetic slut."

Ginny's eyes filled with tears again. Harry shook his head at her and made his way upstairs. Once he reached the room, he couldn't help but notice the extreme looks of disappointment on the headmasters face, or the fact that Hope was sobbing into her father's shoulder. Severus gave Harry a look that Harry knew meant he would have to explain himself later.

Well, at least he'll let me explain. Harry thought to himself.

Dumbledore rose and conjured three beds into the room, as well as two chairs. He nodded to Severus to set Hope in one, and to Harry to sit in the other. He took a deep breath and started explaining.

"Hope will act like she is about to heal you, but Harry you have to channel her powers back into herself. It requires complete trust in each other, which I'm afraid was compromised this morning. Hope, do you still want to go through with this?"

Hope sighed but nodded. She placed her hands up but Albus shook his head. "Your minds will be connected. You will see what is at the front of each others thoughts. Any issues will need to be resolved for the spell to be fully effective. Like I said, it requires complete and absolute faith in the person. Harry, I can't explain to you how to direct her power back into her, but you will understand. Because of the link of your minds, you will be able to use her power as if it was your own."

Harry nodded. Hope did the same and Albus whispered the incantation to join their minds. The world swayed and Harry found himself standing in a raining meadow. Hope was leaning against a tree.

"Hope, why are we here?"

Hope turned towards him and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it means we have an issue to fix."

Harry sighed. "Hope, it wasn't what it looked like; I wasn't kissing her."

Hope closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Harry, I still trust you with my life. That's not going to change anything. You can be with Ginny if you want, it's your choice."

Harry shook his head. "I don't want to be with Ginny!" He exclaimed. "I want to be with you!"

Hope opened her eyes and looked around the meadow. It wasn't storming, just raining. She sat down on the grass and motioned for him to do the same. She held her hands up and he place his so that they were barely touching hers.

"Do you feel the energy flowing behind my hands?" Hope asked. "It's yearning to be used. You have to force the same energy from behind yours. It's complicated, but you'll figure it out."

"Hope, talk to me, please."

Hope shook her head. "It's fine Harry. We'll still win the war together. I'll still fight by your side. Do this for me, please?"

Harry sighed and closed his eyes after saying one last thing to her.

"Hope, I love you. In case something weird happens, you have to know that."

The meadow faded and they stood in a dark blue room. Energy passed through their hands. "Hope, how do I know when to stop?"

Hope showed obvious pain on her face. "I'll stop you. Trust me."

Harry did and let the power flow from his hands into hers. He felt the fatigue she felt after healing someone, magnified ten fold. After what seemed like days, Hope jerked her hands away with obvious effort and broke the connection. They were back in the chairs.

Harry felt dizzy and immediately forced his head down between his knees. Hope on the other hand, was in such a high amount of pain that she was clenching the armrests on the chair so her hands were white, and had her head buried in her knees, which were brought up to her chest.

"Hope?" Draco asked, going to touch her. Severus grabbed his son's hand and jerked him back. "Don't go near her. Any touch will burn her. She's in the process of healing."  
Hope let out a whimper that brought Harry out of his daze. He went to stand but was grabbed from the side by the headmaster.

"Draco, help him over to one of the beds," Dumbledore ordered, watching as the teen supported Harry, despite their current disagreement.

"Headmaster, why is she is so much pain?" Harry asked, trying to fight the feelings of dizziness and fatigue that were trying to overwhelm him.

"It's all a part of the process. Nobody knows exactly why it hurts a healer to heal themselves, but it doesn't hurt others to be healed. It's amazing how things that this work."

Harry nodded and leaned back against the bed. He watched as Severus sat in the chair but didn't finish the healing process. Twenty minutes later, the headmaster locked eyes with the potion's master and nodded. The link was formed.

Everyone watched as Hope seemed to slip further and further away from consciousness. It seemed like Severus spent twice the time healing Hope than Harry did. Finally, Severus jerked out of the connection with a sharp intake of breath as Hope fell completely unconscious.

Albus helped Severus to his feet and to another bed. He glanced at Harry and was relieved to see the boy had finally given up fighting the fatigue trying to claim him. He looked over to see Draco about to touch Hope.

"Draco, wait ten minutes before you move her. Her powers are a bit confused right now, and I wouldn't want to risk them lashing out at anyone."

Draco nodded and chose instead to sit in the chair across from her and watch. "Is everyone going to be okay?"

"It all worked perfectly. From what I can tell, even Hope's leg is healed."

Severus sat on the bed and wearily rubbed his eyes. "It is. She's completely healed, but her powers won't work for a couple of days, especially her healing ones."

Albus nodded. "I expected as much. They are going to be confused. It's dangerous to have to self-heal more than once every two months. She'll need to be extremely careful in the coming months."

Severus nodded and laid down completely on the bed. He watched for the next fifteen minutes as Draco moved Hope over to the bed between his and Harry's and sat on the end before falling asleep.

The three slept for the next couple of hours soundlessly. Harry was the first to awaken, and Hermione brought over a tray of food for him to eat. Harry ate only a few bites before slowly falling back asleep. Severus did the same thing only a half hour later.

Draco sat on the windowsill with Hermione while waiting for something else they could do. He glanced at her and saw the worry in her eyes.

"They are going to be okay you know," he said, taking her hand in his.

"I know, but what about everything else? Hope's so lost as to what is going on in Harry's head at the moment. She doesn't know which way to turn. This morning only complicated things. I know Ginny; she's sly and always gets what she wants. She's wanted Harry for a long time now, and I think she decided to just take him. Hope will blame herself, and Harry will also. Plus, I don't know where we stand…"

Draco looked at Hermione as she covered her mouth. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't mean to say that, Draco."

"Yes, you did," he said, pulling her closer to him. "What did you mean by it?"

Hermione looked into his eyes. "I don't understand what you are doing. You've made it clear that you like me, yet you don't do anything about it. What are you waiting for?"

Draco sighed. "Hermione, I do like you, but I don't want to complicate things. If I were to become your boyfriend, you would be in even more danger than you are now."

Hermione leaned closer to Draco and kissed him. Draco hesitated before kissing her back. When they pulled away from each other, they heard clapping in the background. They both turned quickly to find Hope sitting up in bed, looking exhausted.

"It's about time, you two," Hope said with a smile. "So, was that just a kiss, or are you actually going to get over yourselves and go out?"

Draco laughed and threw a pillow at his sister. "I was getting there." He turned to Hermione. "Would you go out with me?"

Hermione smiled bigger than she had in a long time. She threw her arms around Draco's neck and hugged him.

Hope laughed again. "That's a yes, bro, now shush so I can get some sleep."

Hermione and Draco laughed as Hope took the pillow he had thrown at her and used it to fall back asleep.

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A/N: Hey everyone!! Sorry it's taken so long to get this out. For some reason, isn't letting me upload my chapters. Good news though! I do have this story finished. I'm working on the last part of the series, Living with Hope! Thanks to Nita for coming up with that name and for betaing both stories!

I am going to have to move my update days to Friday because I'm having to work on Monday nights now. Sorry!! I'll post early this week though, because I'll be out of town!!

Lastly, I have a new yahoo group. I know the Website got cut off last time, so I wanted to let everyone know that is in my homepage. If you join that, you'll know when stupid stuff happens that prevents me from updating.

Have a good week, Thanks to all who reviewed.  
Kayla

. Harry thought to himself. 


	12. Chapter Twelve: Journals and Letters

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter Twelve: Journals and Letters

Harry sat on his bed the next day, trying to finish the last entries of Hope's journal. He had made it to the end of May before the attack at the burrow, and then just hadn't had time to read it. What he was reading made him understand more and more why Hope was a different person than she was before.

_July 8, 1997_

_I can't sleep. I can't even think about sleeping. I close my eyes and I see Voldemort standing over me. Or I see him torturing Harry. I've put him through so much. He's still after me. I feel like I'm back where I started. All the emotions I worked so hard to block after last time I was in that cell are rushing back. I don't know what to do. Every time someone touches me, my mind reverts back to when he would hit me. No touch is good. I can't sleep for fear of waking up back in that cell. I close my eyes and water surrounds me. What am I supposed to do?_

Reading the raw emotions that were portrayed through her journal made Harry's heart break into two. He knew she was feeling an array of emotions during this time, but he had no clue how to deal with them. Now that he did, it was too late. He turned the page and read the next couple entries before coming onto one about a day that he remembered all too well.

_July 29, 1997  
_

_I just made the worst mistake in history. I broke up with Harry. I knew we were drifting apart because of everything that happened, but I actually broke up with him. I don't know what to do. Harry was the person I leaned on for everything, and I decided to be stupid and in the blink of an eye, the person I trusted with everything is gone. Who do I turn to now? It's different with everyone else. They didn't know me before I was kidnapped. They didn't know who I was before. Harry did, but I blew it. I saw the look in his eyes. There is no way I'll be able to fix this._

Harry saw that this was the last entry in the journal. When he turned the page however, there was a folded page of midnight blue parchment. He unfolded it and saw a letter written in a light blue ink of Hope's beautiful handwriting.

**Dear Harry,**

**  
I hope that this helped you understand what is going on better. I know you have been left out of the loop with what has happened to me over the past year. Now you're ahead of the game. I've not even trusted Severus with the raw emotions that are portrayed through this journal. It's been my secret for the past year, and now I'm entrusting its secrets to you. **

I know a lot of the time, I talked about you. The times I spent with you were the ones I could look back on and feel true joy. You were able to let me forget the war and just live. I wasn't trying to impress anyone, or having to defend myself against an ultimate evil. I was just being me.

I know I've made mistakes, and I hope that you are able to forgive me for not finding some way to clue you in sooner. This was hard for me to do, still is hard, but I need my friend back. Even if that's all that we can ever be, I have to be able to trust you.

**So, to prove my trust to you, I let you see a part of my life that nobody else has ever seen. Take as long as you need to look over what you've just read, Harry. I trust you. I know that you and I will be able to defeat Voldemort together when the time comes. Until then, I'll treasure the moments I have to spend with you just being Hope.**

Harry reached up and wiped away tears that were escaping from his eyes as he reread the letter. Smiling to himself, he took out a piece of parchment, grabbed a quill, and went and knocked on Draco's door.

"Come in."  
Harry opened the door and saw Draco sitting in his bed, organizing his wizard's cards. Harry laughed and walked over, holding out the parchment and quill.

"Good job, Harry. You found a roll of parchment and a quill; now go write your summer essay."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I need you to show me the charm to change its color."

Draco rolled his eyes and brandished his wand. "What color?"

"The parchment needs to be an emerald green, the ink a lighter green."

Draco waved his wand and Harry watched in amazement as the parchment switched colors right before his eyes.

"Wow," Harry said in awe.

"Yeah, it's impressive. Now go."

Harry shook his head as he was pushed out of the room, and made his way back into his own. After sitting for three hours, he finally came up with the perfect reply to Hope's letter.

Harry folded the parchment and slipped it into the journal so that when it was picked up, the parchment would fall out. He stood up and made his way down the hall where Hope's room was. He gently knocked, and when he received no reply, he pushed open the door. He smiled at the sight of Hope sound asleep on her bed. He walked over and gently set the journal down on her table, on top of her current one. He walked back over to the bed and wiped a few strands of hair out of her face.

Walking back to the doorway, he paused and just watched her sleep with a small smile on his face.

* * *

Hope slept on and off for a week following the healing. She was the one it drained the most. Severus would wake her up three times a day to eat, but usually she would fall asleep directly afterwards.

So a week later, when she made her way downstairs, everyone turned and looked at her. She grinned at everyone, showing off how she could walk without crutches and ignored the jokes made about sleeping beauties. She looked across the table and locked eyes with Harry. There was something about his eyes that was different. The way he looked at her. She shrugged it off until later.

"So what is going on in the wizarding world today?" Hope asked as she started in on the breakfast Molly had made.

"Basically, everybody has lost all hope they had in winning the war," Draco said from his seat.

"What are you talking about?" Hope asked, with a sharp glance at her father.

Severus sighed. "Hope, Voldemort has become active again, and more so than last time. He's attacking two muggle villages a night. Two nights ago, he attacked Hogsmeade. The people are a little concerned because the death count of innocent people keeps going up, yet we've not caught any death eaters."

Hope narrowed her eyes as she took the paper Draco offered her. She glanced through it before looking back up at everyone.

"We have to do something. We can't let him get away with all this."

Severus smiled at the girl. "You're right, we have to do something. But we'll do it after school starts. For the rest of the summer, you need to relax and plan your ball."

Hope smiled at her father. "Before I plan any ball, I have to go upstairs and get ready for a shopping day. You promised you'd take Hermione and I shopping, remember?"

Severus laughed. He shooed her off to go upstairs before looking at her plate. Sighing to himself, he promised that he would get the girl to eat at least one full meal before the summer was over.

* * *

Hope was upstairs while Hermione was doing her hair and describing the past week as it had happened around the manor. A few times, Hope glanced around her room, feeling like something was different, but always ended up finding nothing out of place.

Hermione finished with Hope's hair and went to go get a clip to make it perfect, but stopped at the black book on her desk. She held it up. "I thought you were giving this to Harry?"

Hope eyed the black book curiously. "I did. I wonder how it ended up back in here?" Hope took the book from Hermione's hand and saw the green parchment fall to the floor. She took it and unfolded the parchment, with tears filling her eyes as she read the letter three times.

_Hope,_

_After reading your journal, I realize that everything I said to you, and everything I did to you, was only making the situation worse. I never really thought you would have survived a month under Voldemort's torture, and since I never had a timeline to compare it to, I chose to assume what I thought, rather than ask you what it was like. This led to me being rude and uncaring towards you. _

_I am so sorry for how I acted around you. I messed up badly and know that it is too late to fix it. I can fix one thing though, Hope. You are not at fault for us breaking up. That was completely my responsibility. I put you on the spot and made it seem like you didn't have any choice. I take back what I said though, you were everything that a guy could want in a girlfriend._

_I truly miss the relationship that we had. I will always love you, Hope, no matter where we stand. I would never betray you, and I will trust you with my life, very soon when we go up against Voldemort. I hope that by then, you and I will be in a much better place in our relationship than we are now._

_Until then, you have all my love and always will. You will always be my hope in whatever time has in store._

Hope looked up at Hermione and let her best friend read the letter. She watched as her best friend's eyes traveled over the paper several times before a slow smile stretched across her face.

Hope shook her head at her friend, more confused than ever. "I don't understand. He says he still loves me, yet a week ago he was kissing another girl."

Hermione laughed and pulled her best friend up from the bed. "I think it's time you heard the true story of what happened in his bedroom. But first, we'll go shopping!"

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A/N: To all my lovely readers this story is drawing to a close. There is only eight more chapters left in this part, and then there will be the final part of the series, Living With Hope. I'm starting on it this week, so feel free to send me any suggestions. Actually, please do! Because it's going to be an exciting school year for our friends and I can use several tips.  
Just so you all know, I am still going to post on Fridays, but I am going out of town on a church trip to go paintballing this weekend, and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging for another week. So I posted a day early.   
Please review, ;P

Love ya'll,  
Kayla


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Threats and Curses

Disclaimer: I don't own it

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Chapter Thirteen: Threats and Curses

Hope and Hermione were sitting on Hope's bed, sorting through party items, to insure they had everything. The ball was set to commence in two weeks, and they couldn't wait.

Hope got up and stretched as she looked through some of the pictures that she had gotten from the vault while she was shopping. She had also removed the keys to the bigger vault and to her parent's manor. She thought it was time to finally take Severus up on his offer to see where her parent's used to live. But first…

"Hermione, I had an idea the other day. What if we talked to my dad, and Draco, you, Harry, Severus and I all go down to where the Burrow used to be and build a new one? It could be bigger, and everyone could have their own room. I mean, it wouldn't have to be a manor, and it would take a couple days, but they deserve their own home. And I want mine back."

Hermione looked at Hope before getting a pensive look on her face. "We would need to make sure Harry and Draco were willing to help, and research all the spells, and we would have to get started in the next couple days."

She turned toward Hope. "I'll ask Draco while you ask Harry and then we'll all go to your father and ask him. We could do it as a surprise too, that way they aren't expecting it. Oh, this is going to be so much fun."

Hermione jumped up off the bed and headed off to Draco's room before Hope could object to asking Harry. Sighing, she dejectedly made her way down the hallway and knocked on his door. She heard a crash and shuffling around his room before Harry opened the door.

"Hope, hey. Come on in," he said, holding the door open wider.

Hope entered his room and ducked her head as the snitch she had given him for Christmas came flying by. He jerked around her as he tried to catch it, but missed, and turned to her apologetically as she laughed.

"Catch your snitch," she said as she sat in the chair beside his desk. She watched him chase the snitch around the room. Again the snitch raced toward her, and she went to roll the chair out of Harry's way. Unknowing that the chair had been moved, he went to go around the chair and tripped over it, sending both the chair with Hope and himself to the floor.

Harry shook his head and laughed. He look at the girl who had landed beside him to make sure she was okay. At the glare he was receiving, he laughed even harder. Standing up, he put his hand out to help her. She jerked it hard causing him to have to regain his balance. Once up, the snitch flew by and Hope jerked her hand out and caught it, holding it out to an astonished Harry.

"Next time you're playing with a snitch, leave me in the hallway," she muttered as she sat on his bed and ran a hand through her hair.

Harry grinned. "But then you'd miss all the fun."

Hope couldn't help but smile at him. "Guess so."

Harry pushed a stray lock of hair away from her face. "I'm guessing you didn't come in here to catch the snitch that's avoided me for the past two hours. What's up?"

Hope looked up. "Hermione and I were wondering if you wanted to help us rebuild the Weasleys house. It would be this weekend, and we won't tell them till it's done, but we need you and Draco's help before we ask my dad."

Harry laughed again. "Hope, the Weasleys are the closest thing to a family I've ever had. Of course I'll help."

Hope sighed in relief. "Good, now come help me convince my brother and father." She went to stand up but was pulled back down.

"Hope, there's more on your mind than just the house. What's going on?"

Hope looked away. "Harry, now isn't the time."

Harry put his finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Your brother can keep Hermione occupied for a bit. What's wrong?"

Hope locked eyes with Harry. "You kissed Ginny."

Harry closed his eyes in understanding. "You're still upset about that? I thought you understood that I loved you, not her."

"Then why did you kiss her?"

Harry sighed. "Hope, she kissed me. She came in here crying, so we talked. She asked me to play Quidditch with her, and I said I had plans with you. She was put out and asked if we were dating again, and when I told her no, she kissed me. It happened less than a second before you walked in. I wouldn't have let it continue even if you hadn't come in."

Hope looked into his eyes to make sure he was telling the truth. "So where does that leave us?" She asked, even more confused. "It was easier to hate you for kissing her than it was to be confused by not knowing where we stand."

Harry smiled gently at her. He pulled her a little closer to him and softly kissed her. When he pulled away, he saw the turmoil in her eyes.

Hope was about to say something when there was a knock on the door, followed by Hermione yelling for them to hurry up.

Harry laughed. "Hope, your calling the shots on this house thing. Let's go. We'll finish talking later."

Hope got up and followed Harry out into the hallway in a daze. She turned to Hermione, who was dragging Harry and Draco down the hallway. She stopped halfway down and put her hands on her hips. "Hope Leanne Collins, what is wrong with you? This was your idea, now let's go!"

Hope shook her head to clear her thoughts, and hurried to catch up with them just as Hermione knocked on Severus' door. There came a muffled _enter_ from inside and Draco pushed the door open.

"Are you doing anything that could possibly blow the house up if you're distracted?" He asked jokingly as he entered and saw Severus sitting at a desk with piles of paperwork surrounding him.

Severus glanced up at his children and their friends. "No, just working on lesson plans for the second half of term. What do you children need?"

Hope pushed the door closed and sat on her father's bed. "We were wondering if we could go and rebuild the burrow for the Weasleys this weekend. I mean, that would give us two days to look up construction spells. We wanted to surprise them."

Severus smiled at them. "I think it'd be a good idea. I'll contact Albus. The books you will need are in the back of the library on the top shelf. Draco knows how to get them down without being inflicted with a hex."

Draco nodded and the four teens stood. Draco and Hermione immediately went downstairs. Harry said something about _finally beating the snitch, _and shut himself off in his room. Hope laughed and went upstairs to start drawing a plan of the house on parchment. She entered her room and went to shut it the door when it was obstructed by something.

She turned around, curious as to what was blocking the door, and Ginny stood in her way.

"Ginny, what do you want?" She asked a tad bit rudely.

"I want you to stay the hell away from Harry. He isn't interested in you. Obviously you have put some kind of spell on him, but don't you know it's me he's interested in?"

Hope shook her head. "Ginny, I'm not arguing with you. Harry can decide who he wants to be with on his own."

"Really? Then why won't he even talk to me?"

"Maybe he doesn't like you. I don't know, go ask him."

"I can't ask him!" The redhead yelled furiously as she pulled out her wand. "He's too preoccupied with submitting himself to your every wish and command to even give me the time of the day. Voldemort should have killed you while you were in his clutches. Instead, he let you come back her to ruin everyone else's life!"

Hope looked at the wand and back to the teen's face. "Ginny, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to make sure that Harry never even considers going out with you again."

"Ginny, what is wrong with you?! You were invited into my house and now you're in my room threatening to hex me? What simple hex do you know that my father or the headmaster would be unable to reverse?"

Ginny glared at the girl. "What if I set your skin on fire? Surely the burns will be enough to turn Harry off of you forever."

Hope back away from the girl. "Ginny, calm down. You're being extremely rash."

Ginny raised her hand and said the incantation. Hope dodged the curse and watched as her bed was set up in flames. She grabbed her wand and put up a block for the next curse that Ginny sent out to her. The block broke and Hope fell to the ground and looked at the burn on her arm.

"Hey, Hope I was wondering if you…" Harry walked in and stopped at the sight of Hope's bed on fire and another spell crashing into her wall. He grabbed his wand and put out the fire on her bed before snatching Ginny's wand.

"What the hell are you thinking, Ginny? You could have killed her."

Ginny pouted and looked apologetic. She glanced at the damage that was done. "I don't know what happened. She said that you were hers and wanted nothing to do with me. I'm sorry, Harry, but you're one of my best friends, and after losing Ron, I guess I snapped." She turned to Hope, glaring since Harry was behind her. "I'm sorry, Hope."

Hope glared at the girl while standing. "I don't care how sorry you are, you get the hell away from me."

Hope inspected the burn on her arm and winced. The skin was completely eaten away and the area around the burn itself was severely red. She looked up and saw Harry's sympathetic eyes as he watched Ginny go downstairs.

"Hope, don't tell me you're going to kick her out of the house. She has nowhere to go."

"Harry, I'm not going to kick her out. Go get my father so he can put something on this."

Harry glanced back at her before rushing down the hallway. Hope sat on the couch since her bed was destroyed and closed her eyes against the pain. She desperately wished that potions would still work on her.

She heard footsteps entering and saw Hermione and Draco enter. "What happened!?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Ginny decided to try to finish what Voldemort started," Hope answered darkly. "She said that she'd make Harry never want to go out with me again."

"By burning your room?"

"No, by cursing my skin off by flame."

Hermione eyes got wide as she conjured a wet cloth. She placed it on the burn and winced as Hope let out a hiss of pain. As soon as she did this, Severus walked in and growled at the damage in her room.

"What the hell happened in here, Hope?!" Her father yelled, turning dangerous eyes upon her.

"I was testing some shields. I set them against an item and fired a curse. It didn't work, obviously."

Severus glared at his daughter. "Then you can fix everything yourself. Next time, think about what you're doing, you idiot child."

Hope watched him storm out of her room sadly. She looked at her brother.

"I'll go talk to him," he assured her as he left.

"Hope, why didn't you just tell him what happened?" Hermione asked as she got some kind of cream and put it on the burn.

"Because then he'd kick her out of the house. Maybe she is just overwhelmed with everything. No reason to make it worse."

"She could have killed you!"

"I know, Hermione, but I just have to give her the benefit of the doubt. Unless she is a dark wizard, I don't want to make her life any worse. Since she doesn't bear the dark mark, I'll let my father believe I was being stupid."

Hermione nodded and wrapped the arm tightly in bandages. "Every morning and night after you shower, put on this ointment and change the bandages." Hope nodded. "Do you need anything else?"

Hope shook her head and watched as Hermione and Harry left. She sighed and pulled out her journal to record the latest news of how her life was spinning out of control.

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A/N: Here's another chapter. Poor Hope. :(  
Let me know what you all think.  
See ya next Friday.  
Kayla


	14. Chapter Fourteen: New & Improved Burrow

Disclaimer; I don't know it, but I wish I did. Hope, on the other hand, belongs entirely to me. :)

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Chapter Fourteen: The New and Improved Burrow

Hope winced yet again as she wrapped the bandages tightly around her arm. Two days after Ginny's attack of her room, Hope's arm was worse than ever. She sighed and pulled on some black sweatpants and a blue camisole tank top.

A knock sounded at her door and she rushed over to pull it open. Her brother and Hermione were at the other end. Opening the door wider, she motioned for them to come in.

"What's going on, guys?" She asked as she pulled her tennis shoes on.

"We were just making sure you still wanted to help today. We would understand if you didn't…after what Ginny did."

Hope shook her head. "The way I see it, the sooner this place gets built, the sooner she is out of my house and away from Harry."

Hermione and Draco laughed. "That's a good way to think about it," Draco said.

Hope shrugged. "What did Dad say the other day? He hasn't talked to me since."

Draco made a face. "He said you were acting completely irresponsible with no thought to safety."

Hope winced. "And he still expects me to figure out how to fix my bed and wall?" Draco nodded. "Great, here goes another night on the couch."

They both gave her looks of sympathy when there was another knock at her door. Everyone turned and saw a smiling and disheveled Harry.

"Hey Everyone! Let's get started! Where's Severus?"

"Right here," a voice said behind them. "Let's go, and Hope, let's not experiment with shields while we're there," he added with accusing eyes.

Hope sighed. "Yes sir."

He nodded curtly and held out a necklace. Everybody reached out and grabbed it before it glowed and they felt the tug behind their navels and landed on the hard ground.

"Ow," Hope complained as her head hit a tree. "Couldn't you have picked a better place to land?"

Severus glared at his daughter. "Maybe you should practice shielding yourself," he said sarcastically.

Hope sighed and looked at the ground. "Let's just get this done."

Severus stopped in front of the annihilated burrow. He took out his wand and turned toward the children.

"Watch carefully. Before we can begin any construction, we have to clean up all the old parts of the house. I'm going to show this to you once, so pay attention. There is no incantation to go with it, only wand work."

Severus waved his wand in a very complicated motion before turning to the children. "Now you try it."

All of them pointed their wands at a piece of debris and tried the wordless spell. Hope and Hermione got it on first try, but Draco had to try twice and Harry just couldn't figure it out. Hope laughed before going over to help him.

After Harry figured it out, Severus split them into partners. Harry and Hermione, and Draco and Hope. Hope shook her head at her father's obvious attempt at trying to keep her separated from Harry.

"Is he ever going to speak to me without scorn again?" Hope muttered while angrily banishing a piece of debris.

"Probably not," Draco said, attempting some humor. When Hope glared at him, he patted her on the back encouragingly. "Give him some time. I'll show you how to fix the wall and bed later."

Hope sighed and nodded. She continued banishing pieces of debris for several hours. Finally, after the last piece, they all sat down to eat some lunch. Hope leaned against the tree, closing her eyes to rest for a few moments.

"Hope, you okay?" Harry asked, as he sat down next to her and handed her a cold drink and sandwich.

"Yeah, just a bit tired," she replied as she opened the drink and drained it empty.

"Maybe you should wait for a bit. You're supposed to be taking it easy for a couple months."

Hope glared at him. "It was my idea to do this. My father is already pissed at me; do you really think it would help matters if I took some time to relax while everyone else is working?"

"He would if you explained to him why you need to take a break."

Hope sighed. "I appreciate your concern Harry, but I'll be fine. I'll just make sure I sleep tonight."

Harry shrugged and helped her stand up. "Then work with me so I can watch you. I don't want you passing out and nobody realizing it."

Hope smiled as she banished their trash and joined the others. Severus was inspecting the area to insure there was no left over trash. He returned and pulled out his wand.

"Today we are only going to focus on the exterior frame of the house. We'll be in three teams once again. I'll do the front. Hermione, you and Harry will do the left side while Hope does the right. Draco will do the back."

"What about me? I'm better at these spells than Draco and everyone knows the front and back are the hardest." Hope asked.

"I don't trust you with that kind of magic," he said cruelly. Then, turning to everyone, he asked. "Do you all have your plans of what it is to look like?"

Everyone nodded. Severus showed them how to build the brick exterior, and also how to add in windows. An hour later, they started.

Hope built about half the wall before pausing to catch her breath. The advanced magic was really starting to take its toll on her. She looked around and saw Harry and Hermione laughing as they finished their side. The front was built and her father was helping Draco with the back. Hope rubbed her head to try to block the headache she was receiving before raising her wand again.

"Need some help?" Harry asked from behind her.

Hope sighed. "My father might throw a fit."

Harry shrugged. "Let him."

He raised his wand and together they completed the last side of the house. Once they were done, Hope staggered back and felt Harry's arms encircle her. She leaned against him for a moment.

"You okay?" He asked her.

She nodded against his chest as she caught her breath before backing away from him and rejoining her father. Severus looked at the girl carefully, noticing the fatigue in her eyes. He brushed it off to the advanced magic and continued on.

"We still have some time tonight. We'll go ahead and build the rooms, and decorate them tomorrow. We also need to ward, but we'll do that once Albus gets here with some help. The more people involved in the warding, the stronger it will be."

Hope sighed as she followed her father inside.

"There are two floors. The top floor will be devoted to bedrooms and the bottom floor will have a kitchen, sitting room, dining room, and an office. Harry, Hermione, and Draco, the three of you will stay down here and build half walls in between all the rooms. The office will need a full wall with a door. Draco, I believe you and Hermione know the spell from your research?" Draco nodded. "Very well, Hope and I will be building the bedrooms upstairs."

"Sir, aren't the bedrooms harder to build?" Harry asked, knowing how close to exhaustion Hope was becoming.

"Yes. The half walls are a simple spell, while full room building takes full concentration. While I'm not sure my daughter can control herself, I'd rather have her within sight so she doesn't destroy anything."

The three teens sighed while Hope turned away and looked about to lose her temper. Severus ignored them and turned to build the stairs. He turned toward the teens and spelled a wood floor under their feet before turning and doing the same thing for the top. He then turned and headed upstairs, with Hope solemnly following.

Harry shook his head and turned toward his friends. "He's being really hard on her."

Hermione nodded. "He thinks she blew up her bedroom though, can you blame him?"

Draco was still staring up at the top of the stairs. "She looks like she's about to collapse. I think he's forgotten that she's supposed to be taking it easy for the next couple weeks."

Harry sighed. "She's tired. She almost fell when we were building the walls outside. She's not going to be able to help with the warding. It'll weaken them rather than strengthen them."

Hermione shook her head as she started building the walls. "It won't hurt the wards. It'll still help, but they wouldn't be as strong as they would if she was fully energized. We'll probably re-ward them later, though."

Harry and Draco nodded as they also began building. They got done quickly and went upstairs to see if they were needed. Instead, they walked head on into a confrontation.

"Hope, what is wrong with you? You try to destroy my house, then don't even focus hard enough to complete a project that _you_ suggested?"

Hope gritted her teeth as she tried the spell again. Her magic was drained and she was exhausted. But her father was so wrapped up in his anger that he refused to see it. "I'm trying, Severus!"

He turned and glared at her. "You're not focusing."

"It's hard to do that with someone constantly yelling at you and criticizing you."

"I wouldn't have to if you would just get it right."

The look Hope gave him could've frightened even Voldemort. She walked straight up to him and stared at him while she spoke in low dangerous tones. "I don't give a damn how mad you are at me for destroying a part of your precious house. You don't understand what the hell went on in that room; you only know what I chose to tell you, so get over it. In case you've forgotten, my magic is a bit weakened at the moment. It's not because I'm not focusing that the spell isn't working, it is simply because my magic isn't strong enough at the current time."

Severus looked as if he'd been smacked as Hope turned around and walked down the stairs. He went to go after her but was stopped by Draco. Severus turned questioning eyes on all of them as Draco nodded to Hermione to go.

"What really happened in the room?" He asked.

Harry sighed. "I walked in as Ginny threw a curse at Hope that hit the wall. It grazed her arm when Hope's block fell a little. The bed was already on fire but Ginny basically admitted to doing that also. Ginny said she just snapped at something Hope had said."

Draco looked at his father whenever he turned his eyes to him. "Hermione and I came up after Harry had left to get you. Hope said that Ginny was _making sure Harry never wanted anything to do with her again by cursing her skin off by flame."_

Severus looked dangerous. "And nobody felt it important to inform me that my daughter was attacked in her own home, at a time when her powers are the weakest they could possibly be?"

Draco sighed. "Hope was afraid you'd kick her out. She felt sorry for Ginny and said that unless she was bearing the dark mark, she didn't want to make her life any worse."

Severus sighed and rubbed his head. "Let's finish up here, I'll talk with your sister later."

Together they built six bedrooms and a hallway before going downstairs. Looking around, they didn't see Hope and Hermione so they went outside to the starry night.

Hope was leaning against a tree when a series of pops sounded around her. She didn't even bother opening her eyes. "Are those death eaters?" She asked Hermione.

"Not quite, child. Just an old headmaster and some friends."

"Damn," Hope muttered as she stood. "Guess it's time to ward this place then, huh?"

"Hope, maybe you shouldn't…" Severus began.

"Like you give a damn," Hope replied scathingly, as she brandished her wand.

"Of course I care, you're my daughter."

Hope rolled her eyes. "When it pleases you, I am." She turned to everyone else. "Let's get started."

Dumbledore placed a hand on her shoulder. "I agree with Severus, Hope. Your magic is still weakened from the healing. You've done enough for today, I believe. However, it is completely your choice."

Hope nodded at the headmaster and lifted her wand. Dumbledore explained to the four teens how it worked before starting the old incantation.

About halfway through, Hope began to feel very weak. She stumbled over a rock, barely catching herself before falling. Shaking her head, she continued around the house, muttering the incantation.

Hope reached back to the starting place and collapsed against someone behind her. "Harry?" She asked.

"Not quite," the voice replied gruffly as he picked her up. "Can you get the rest of the kids back to the manor, Albus?"

The headmaster must have nodded because Hope heard a pop and suddenly she was at another destination. She looked around her bedroom and groaned.

"Thought we couldn't apparate directly into the manor…" she muttered against the person's shirt.

"You can't, only I, as the owner of the manor, can." She recognized the voice this time…her father.

"Oh…" Hope muttered, her eyes fighting to stay open.

"Hope, why haven't you fixed your bed yet?" Her father asked gently yet sternly as he juggled her weight and pulled his wand out. He muttered some spells and the bed was brand new.

"Didn't know how," she muttered. Her father carried her over and laid her on her bed. She went to sit up and felt his hands on her shoulders pushing her back down.

"No, have to change my bandage…Herm says it'll _come infect'd_," she murmured tiredly as she tried to sit up again.

"I will get child, lay back down."

Hope laid back down and close her eyes and then she felt the bandages on her arm being pulled off. She heard her father let out a small gasp when he saw the damage.

"Lea, why didn't you come get me? It's already infected."

"You were mad," she muttered against her pillow. She jerked her arm when her father touched the burn. "th't hurts…"

"I know," he whispered gently. He summoned some cream and put it on the burn. He then wet a cloth and put it against the burn before re-wrapping it.

Hope groaned and turned over onto her side so she was facing him. "You still mad?"

Severus shook his head at the girl. "No, I know what really happened now. I'll overlook Miss Weasley's stupidity because of the fact that she will be out of my house in two days. If she even threatens you again, then please inform me?"

Hope nodded. "Can I sleep now?"

Severus laughed. "Yes, Lea. You can sleep."

* * *

The next morning, Hope was awakened by Draco and Harry jumping on her bed. She groaned and hit them with her pillow. 

"Hope, come on, we have a house to decorate."

Hope warily got out of bed. She looked toward the two boys. "Is Severus going to allow you two to handle paint?"

Both nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, Merlin, I'm wearing old clothes then," she threw at them as she grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to shower. She came back out and pulled her hair into a bun on the top of her head. She turned around to the boys laying on her bed and raised an eyebrow.

"You two louts about ready to go?"

They both jumped up. "Finally! Hermione is downstairs waiting for us. She's got layouts of all the rooms. If each of us take an upstairs room, as well as a downstairs room, we'll be done in no time."

Hope laughed as she led the way down the stairs. She was still extremely tired from yesterday, but she was more than ready to have her house back.

They all arrived in the room where Hermione was with Severus. Upon seeing her, Severus walked over and looked at her closely.

"You're still tired," he stated.

Hope shrugged. "Just a little, I'll be fine."

"Yeah, Dad. We're all going to do two rooms and then be back here to present it to the Weasleys.

"Absolutely not. After yesterday, Hope is not to be by herself. I'm not convinced she's okay to do advanced magic again. She'll work with me."

Hope wasn't in the mood to argue about being partnered up, but she'd rather partner with someone other than her dad. "What about Harry? I can work with him. He'll watch me closely."

Severus pondered the idea before nodding. They all took the same portkey as yesterday and were on their way. Hermione did Ginny's room, Severus did the adult Weasley's, Draco did Bill's, Hope and Harry did the twin's, and they all worked together on Bill and Charlie's rooms. Afterwards, they went downstairs. Hope and Harry did the office, while Severus did the kitchen, Hermione did the sitting room, and Draco did the dining room. After five hours, they went back to the manor.

Harry used a sonorous on his voice and smiled. "Calling all Weasley's, please quickly pack your belongings and move toward the sitting room."

Everyone laughed until the Weasley's showed up looking nervous a few minutes later. Mr. Weasley looked at Severus.

"Did we wear out our welcome, Severus?" He asked, wondering why they were being ejected.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I said you were welcome to stay as long as you wanted, but I assumed you would prefer to stay in your new house. If you'd rather go back to your rooms, be my guest."

Arthur stared at the man. "Our home was destroyed."

"Nuh uh," Hope countered. "We fixed it. It's better than ever."

Molly looked at Hope and went to hug her. "Woah, wait. Hugs are later, house is now. Let's go people," she said as she held out the portkey for the last time. As all the Weasley's grabbed on and disappeared, she smiled.

"Hey Dad?" She asked her father.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"Since we actually have a free Quidditch pitch for the first time in ages, how about we all go play?"

Severus smiled. "I think that sounds great."

"I call seeker!" Harry and Hope yelled at the same time as they raced toward the pitch.

Severus shook his head and threw his arm around his son's shoulder as they walked out after the other two.

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This is honestly my favorite chapter in the first two parts. I love it, and am extremely happy with how it turned out. What do you all think? Love it? Hate it? Let me know so I can fix it or write more scenes like it.  
Kayla

P.S. For those who are angels and joined my yahoo group, you should know that I am going to post chapters for the third there on Wed.'s not Fri.'s On Fanfictioin it will still be Friday, but that's just a perk for members. Plus I'm going to add some scenes that aren't in the original stories.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Collins' Manor

Disclaimer: I don't own it.  
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Chapter Fifteen: Collin's Manor

Two weeks before the beginning of term, Hope made her way into her father's office. He was sitting at his desk, finishing up his lesson plans. She knocked on the door gently, causing him to look up. She smiled and sat in a chair, patiently waiting for him to get a moment to finish up his train of thought.

Finally he looked up at her and turned his chair. "Do you need something?"

Hope smiled and pulled the key out of her pocket. "I want to go to my parent's house."

Severus watched her carefully for a moment. He gave a curt nod and turned toward his papers. "Give me a couple days to arrange somewhere for Draco and Harry, and to finish my plans. Be ready by Sunday. We'll return only to sleep until the place is clean enough to sleep there."

Hope nodded and stood up before going downstairs and outside. She saw Draco chasing Hermione in the area by the woods so she made her way over to the Quidditch pitch. Grabbing the broom her father had bought for her when she was learning how to fly, she walked directly to the middle of the pitch. Seating herself on the broom, she kicked off and flew into the air.

She didn't know how long she had been flying, but suddenly there was another figure on a broom beside her. She turned and smiled at Harry.

"Hey, what's up?"

Harry smiled back. "Not much. It's a good day for flying."

Hope shrugged. "I prefer rain."

Harry stared at her like she'd lost her mind.

Hope shook her head and turned so she was sitting sideways on her broom. "I'm sure that you didn't come up her to talk about flying weather, so what's up?"

Harry sighed. "The other day, when we were rebuilding the burrow, you stormed out and yelled at your father. You said he didn't know what really happened in the room. After you left, and Hermione went after you, Draco said Ginny had attacked you because she wanted me. Not because of what you said." Hope winced. "Which is true?"

"She came into my room. Said Voldemort should have killed me when he had the chance. She took out her wand and said she'd make sure you never wanted to go out with me again. She tried to set my skin on fire, but I set my shield up and it went to my bed. The second one was stronger than I imagined it would be and it broke through my shield, so I tried to move." She shrugged.

Harry reached across the distance between the two brooms and grabbed her hand. Hope looked up into his eyes.

"I'm sorry she did this," he muttered. "It wouldn't make me dislike you at all. It'd just make me want to kill her."

Hope nodded. She let go of his hand and readjusted herself on her broom. She pulled her wand from its holster and summoned Harry's snitch.

"I leave in two days for my manor. We probably won't see each other until the ball. What do you say we find out who's really the better seeker?"

Harry smiled as he mounted the broom.

* * *

Two days later, Hope carried a small duffel bag down the stairs. She smiled at Draco and Harry playing cards on the couch, and her father, who was impatiently leaning against the fire place.

Hope walked over to Draco, who had stood, and gave him a huge hug. "I'm going to miss you guys!"

Draco laughed. "It's not like you are going to be gone forever."

Hope shrugged. "It'll feel like it. Where are you guys staying?"

Severus walked over. "The two boys will be staying at the Weasley's until the night of your ball."

Hope looked at Harry. "They will be?"

Severus watched the girl. "They will. However, they've convinced me to allow them to stay here by themselves for a couple days."

"Good." Hope turned to her father. "Could you give Harry and me a couple minutes alone?"

Severus sighed and left the room with Draco. Hope turned back to Harry.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay with Ginny?" She looked down at the ground. "I wouldn't blame you if you just gave up and got with her."

Harry shook his head as he forced her to look at him. "Hope, how many times do I have to tell you this? No matter what, I will always fight for _you_. I don't care about Ginny like I do you."

Hope sighed. "I know. I just don't like this." Tears filled her eyes. "I messed up when I broke up with you, but it was easier than explaining everything."

Harry smiled softy at her. "Hope, it's all your call. If you want to give it another try, we can."

Hope closed her eyes. "I'm not ready, yet." At his look, she quickly went on. "I love you, Harry, but I'm not going to be here for two weeks. Plus, we need to work on trusting each other, and listening to each other, rather than just assuming. I want to get to know you more before I jump into this again."

Harry sighed but nodded anyway. "I understand. But do me one favor?"

Hope smiled up at him. "What is it?"

"Allow me to escort you to your ball. Give me something to look forward to while being stuck with Ginny."

Hope's shrugged flippantly. "Well, if you insist."

Harry was going to say something when Severus walked into the room. "Are you ready to go, Hope?"

Hope looked at Harry and smirked. "Yes Dad, it's not like Harry is interesting anyway."

Harry let his mouth open as Hope began to walk away. Smirking, he went up behind her and threw her over his shoulder.

"Not interesting, eh?"

Hope giggled. "Put me down!"

Harry walked up to Severus. "You're not in a big hurry, are you?"

Severus shook his head and smiled as Hope let out another giggle. "I couldn't be less rushed. I prepared for a teenage girl, so I didn't expect to leave for another couple hours."

"Hey!" Hope said from her spot on Harry's shoulder. "I don't take that long to get ready!"

"Sure you do," Harry said.

"Harry James Potter, if you don't put me down right this instant than I am going to curse you!"

Harry held her wand up before casually throwing it to Severus. "How are you going to do that without your wand?"

Hope narrowed her eyes. "I don't need a wand. Are you forgetting when I kicked you out of my room ever so gently?"

Harry laughed. "How could I forget, I was sore for a week."

"Then put me down!"

Harry smiled as he moved her toward the couch before dumping her on top of it. She grabbed the end of his shirt and pulled him down. When he was inches from her face, she whispered into his ear harshly.

"I won't forget that, you're going to regret it."

Harry laughed before giving her a quick kiss. At the shocked look on her face, he smiled. "You may not be ready to go out with me, but that doesn't mean I can't catch you off guard sometimes."

Hope smiled and pulled his shirt again. When she was sitting up, she turned toward her father, who was smiling softly.

"Think it's funny, do you?" She asked as she grabbed her duffel bag.

He shook his head. "I'm just enjoying the opportunity to see you happy. He's good for you," he said with a shrug.

Hope smiled again. "I guess he is," she said with a smile, as she walked up to her father. "But so are you and Draco. How are we getting to my house?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "We'll apparate to the boundaries and enter that way."

Hope nodded and grabbed her bag. He took it from her and handed her the wand Harry had thrown to him earlier.

"Hope, I feel I should warn you. The house won't be what you are expecting. It will be clean because of the house elves still living there, but the majority of the furniture is in the vault."

Hope nodded. He pulled her close and they apparated to right outside the house. Hope stared up at a house surrounded in gates. It was huge, made of pure white brick. There were at least four floors, with no way to tell if there was a basement.

Hope looked up at her father. He was wearing a smile at seeing the look of astonishment on the girl's face.

"Hope, Welcome to Collin's Manor."

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A/N: Hey Everyone. I was in a giving mood today so I decided to give you all an extra chapter. I will still be posting on Friday as usual. Let me know what you all think. There are five more chapters left in this part. I will have the series complete before August when I go to school.  
:)  
Kayla


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and Hope. The rest just do as I tell them.

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Chapter Sixteen: Memories

Hope looked at her father like he was crazy. "This is mine!? No way! It's so big!"

Severus laughed. "It's large. Fourteen bedrooms, eight of which have balconies, an indoor swimming pool, indoor Quidditch pitch, and ballroom, a workout room, four offices, two sitting rooms, a study room, a kitchen, two dining rooms and a room for all the animals your mother had. And, of course, a huge basement where your father brewed all his potions."

Hope shook her head. "It's bigger than your manor!"

"Your parents were the richest people in the wizarding world. Their manor was the largest manor."

Hope's eyes got even bigger. "This is impossible."

Severus shook his head. "Look closely, this is where you and your children will live one day."

Hope smiled. "How do I get in?"

Severus took his wand out and touched the gate. He muttered some words and a house elf popped out to the other side of the gate.

"Mister Snape, how is you?"

Severus nodded his head. "This is Hope, I'm sure you remember her?"

The house elf jumped up and down. "Mistress Hope is returning home! All is thinking Hope is dead, but mistress is here!"

Hope smiled as the gates opened. Hope stepped into her manor and gasped. It was gorgeous.

"Your mother did a good job decorating it the first time. I imagine you'll leave the paint and décor downstairs the same, but the bedrooms may need updated into the current designs."

Hope looked at her father. "I don't want to use magic. I want to do it the old fashioned way."

Severus smiled at the girl. "Your mother did as well. Don't worry, I won't stop you."

Hope laughed. "But you won't help me?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "I don't have a choice. It'll be good to relive the days I had with your parents."

Hope hugged him. "I'm glad you're on board. Now let's get moving. We need to go to Gringotts and sort through all the furniture. Whatever we decide to keep, we'll have them send here. Everything else, we'll donate to an orphanage or something."

Severus stared at his daughter. She sighed and grabbed his hand. "Let's go!"

Severus smiled and apparated his daughter to the bank with a pop.

* * *

Hope and Severus apparated into the manor. Both were extremely tired and worn out. They had picked out the furniture they wanted to keep, as well as found a suitable home for the other pieces they didn't want. When they returned back to Hope's manor, they sorted it all into rooms where it was going to be. Then they went out and bought the new furniture they would need and picked out paint for the rooms.

After that they realized how late it had gotten. Severus reset the wards so they could both apparate directly into the manor and they left.

Upon arriving back at Snape Manor, Severus and Hope went upstairs. He heard noise in Harry's room and opened the door to see Draco and Harry wrestling around in the floor. One of them had bumped into a table and caused the lamp to fall. Hope reached out her hand to stop it and was surprised when it froze in mid air. Everyone stopped and looked at her.

"How did I do that?" she asked incredulously.

Severus walked over and took the lamp before putting it on the table. "Albus thought you would have wandless powers. You're taking after your parents."

"I can do wandless magic? I was just joking around with Harry earlier!"

Severus smiled. "I know. But go ahead and get some sleep. We can practice them tomorrow while we're working on the manor."

Hope nodded and went to her room. She pulled out her journal, but decided to skip writing it and just went to sleep.

* * *

Hope scratched her forehead with her arm as she painted the room again. The last week and a half had gone by quickly. She was painting the last room this morning. They had the furniture set basically where they wanted it. Severus had checked the wards and they were still holding strong. All that was left was to decide what she was keeping here and what would go back home with her.

Severus took the paintbrush from her hand and banished them. The light blue color of the room had come out better than either had imagined.

Hope moved her hand in a movement that caused the room to dry. She had learned some basic wandless magic during the past couple of weeks, but she was very inexperienced. Severus said they would work on it during the school year.

Severus took Hope back downstairs where they had put all the pictures. Hope sat on the floor beside him as he lifted one up and smiled. It was of a beautiful blonde and a brown haired man standing with a young Severus over a baby's crib.

Hope smiled. "Are those my parents?"

Severus nodded. "This was taken the day after you were born. You were their pride and joy. This was the day they named me your godfather."

"Oh, so that's why you're smiling. You got the pleasure of being a godfather to little old me?"

Severus pushed her playfully. "Yeah, Merlin knows I was losing my mind."

"Hey!" She yelled, reaching for another picture. It was a picture of her mother and father again. This time, they were younger, around sixteen. Her mother was dangling her father over the lake, smirking as he yelled at her to put him down.

"Oh, no. What did he do?"

"He was teasing her about her ability to talk to animals. Her pet owl suggested throwing him in the lake."

"Aww, poor guy."

They shifted through pictures for another couple of hours. Finally, Hope hung all the pictures up and had kept some to take with her. She nodded to Severus and they were on their way. They stopped at the door and turned around.

"You did a good job, Hope," Severus said.

"It's done. Now Hermione and I can decorate it for the ball."

Severus smiled and the two left to go home together.

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A/N: Tell me what you all think? Like the manor? Hate the manor?  
I'll post again in a week.  
Kayla


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Fun and Games

Disclaimer: I don't own it. :(

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Chapter Seventeen: Fun and Games

After Hope and Severus arrived back at the manor, they went upstairs to her room. Hope set all her pictures into a photo album and wrote captions with Severus' help. Finally, they went to bed.

When they awoke the next morning, they went straight to the Weasley's to get Harry and Draco. Hope ran up and gave both of them huge hugs!

"Oh my gosh, it's so beautiful, you guys! You have to see. It's so pretty. And both of you have a room there, in case we spend a holiday down there, or like when we have the ball and we stay there."

Draco and Harry had wide eyes when they looked at each other. Hope kept rambling on about her house and all that happened while they sat down and listened.

"Hope!" Harry yelled finally tired of it. "The ball is in two days; don't you think you should just show us the house?"

Hope stared at him for a minute before jumping up. She went and grabbed Severus from where he was talking with Mr. Weasley, "Dad, I want to show Harry and Draco and Hermione the house."

Severus shook his head. "I'm in a conversation right now. We'll go before the end of the day."

Hope sulked as she went out back. Deciding not to let it get to her, she smiled and conjured a bucket. Setting it down, she went inside and got Harry.

"Harry, come outside! There's something I need to show you," she said, dragging his sleeve. She secretly threw Hermione and Draco a camera with a look that told them to follow.

She went outside and pulled Harry over to where the bucket was behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug while summoning the bucket to her. Leaning close, she whispered in his ear, "I told you I'd get you back," before dumping the cold water all over his head.

"Hope!" He yelled, looking at his now drenched clothing.

She backed up before turning toward her brother. "Did you get it?"

He was smiling widely. "You bet." Harry eyed the camera, and using his seeker reflexes, he scooped Hope into his arms and ran toward the lake. Draco and Hermione followed, both doubled over in hysterics.

Draco took out the camera and took several more shots as Harry jumped into the lake with Hope still in his arms. After a while, Hermione and Draco jumped into the lake, playing around in the water with the other two.

An hour later, Fred and George joined in the fun. They entered in the lake from behind and each grabbed one of the giggling girls.

"Gee, Fred, it seems I've got a fish," George said, as he held Hermione over his head.

"I've got one, too!" Fred said, mimicking his movements with Hope.

"What should we do with them?" Should we throw them back in?"

"NO!" Hope yelled.

The twins laughed as they threw the girls in anyway. Instead of hitting the water though, Hope was caught in Harry's arms. Breathing heavily, she laid her head against his chest.

"I think maybe it's time to get out of the lake," she replied shakily.

Harry nodded and the two swam their way over to the edge. They sat on the bank with their feet dangling.

"Hope, they didn't know."

"It's fine. I was the one who stayed in the lake."

Harry watched her. "Why are you okay with water unless your head goes under?"

Hope shrugged. "I don't really know. I've just always been afraid of drowning. Once my head goes under, I panic."

Harry nodded and pulled her close. Hermione made her way over the where the two were.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

Hope nodded. "Everything's fine."

Hermione looked at her as if she didn't believe it. "Fred wouldn't have let you drown, Hope."

Hope sighed. "I know, I just didn't like it. It's fine, go back over to your boyfriend."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at her. "He's your brother."

Hope smiled. "I know! That means you'll end up being my sister."

Hermione rolled her eyes before turning back and swimming. They had only been playing for a couple minutes when Hope heard someone behind her. She turned and smiled.

Leaning against a tree was her father. She could tell he'd been there for awhile, watching them. She caught his eye and motioned for him to sit by them.

"How long were you there?" She asked as he joined her.

"Long enough. You okay?" She nodded. "In that case, you were stupid getting into the lake when you have no clothes here to change into."

Hope laughed. "I can also perform a drying charm on myself."

Severus shrugged. "Suit yourself." She reached into her pocket where her wand had been and sighed.

"Dad, can I have my wand back, please?"

He smirked at her. "You don't need it." Leaning closer, he whispered. "Not until school starts back. Get some practice in with wandless magic."

Hope glared at her father. "I don't know the movements or anything yet! I'll get sick."

He rolled his eyes. "You'll be fine."

"Dad!" She whined.

He shrugged as he stood up. "Figure it out."

She glared at him as he walked back inside. Smiling to herself, she turned to Harry, Hermione and Draco who were getting out of the lake.

"Hey, you guys!" She called them over to her, all of them casting drying spells on themselves in the process.

Hope walked up to Harry and put her arms around his neck. "Harry, do you love me?" She asked.

"What do you want?"

She pouted. "I'm sorry, I didn't know a girl had to want something to give a guy she likes a hug."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "Most girls don't, but you always have an ulterior motive."

Hope sighed and backed up. "My dad took my wand and told me to dry myself off, but I don't know how yet. Will you do it for me?"

Harry gawked at her. "Hope, I am not risking the fury of your father. No matter how cute you are when you pout, it's just not worth it."

Hope sulked before she went over to Draco and gave him a hug.

"How's my favorite older brother in the world?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "If Dad told you to do it yourself, then I'm not getting grounded for it. And before you ask Hermione, she won't do it either, she doesn't break rules." That earned Draco a smack from his girlfriend.

Hope pouted even more as she marched inside. She shivered as the air conditioning hit her before walking around. She went out front and ran into someone.

"I'm sorry…" Hope said as she stood up. Looking down at the girl on the floor, she glared.

"Hope, why are you here?"

Hope shrugged. "Came to pick up my brother and Harry. This way, they are away from your clutches before you can sink your claws into either one of them."

Ginny pulled out her wand. "Oh really?" She smirked. "Harry and I had such a fun time this week."

Hope shook her head and turned around to walk away. As she neared the doorway, she heard a spell whiz past her and jumped out of the way.

"Damn it, Ginny, when will you learn?"

"I never got to finish what I started."

Hope didn't let the fear show on her face. Here she was, outside, where nobody would look for her, without a wand. She turned and faced the girl head on.

"Harry said he'd still love me anyway, you know that right?"

Ginny glared. "He wasn't saying that this week when he kissed me. Oh, we had so much fun. Playing in the lake, falling asleep together, watching the stars. He'll never be fully yours. Not when he truly loves me."

Those statements hit Hope hard. She closed her eyes, distracted for a moment, and pictures flew threw her mind. How could Harry do that to her? She was forced out of her thoughts when a curse hit her in the stomach. Doubling over in pain, she caught the triumphant look in the girl's eyes.

"Never let your guard down, Hope. Harry will be mine," Ginny snarled, turning around to go back into the Burrow. She stopped at the door. "Oh, I forgot, he already is."

Hope lifted her shirt to reveal a gash on her stomach. Sighing, she pressed it tightly as she went in to find her brother.

Seeing him sitting on the floor with Harry and Hermione, she slowly made her way over. The pain in her stomach grew worse with each movement and her vision was growing blurry. What was that curse?

Hope called out Draco's name and all three teens rushed to her. She stumbled and was caught by Harry.

"I need to go home. I need to get out of here," she muttered as Harry took all of her weight.

"Hope, what happened?" Draco exclaimed.

"Not now. Get Dad and go home," Hope muttered as she laid her head against Harry's chest.

Harry looked at Draco worriedly as he made his way to the fireplace. Taking some powder, he threw it in and called out "Snape Manor."

For once, the floo was nice and didn't spit him out. He stepped out and set Hope down on the couch. Moving her hands from her stomach, he slowly lifted her shirt to see the wound.

Hope winced as he brushed his fingers on it. He conjured a wet cloth and immediately began adding pressure. A few minutes later, a worried Severus, Draco and Hermione stepped out into the living room.

Severus rushed over to his daughter. He worked quickly so nobody knew what he did, but a few minutes later, Hope was sitting up. It was obvious she was in pain, but she looked at everyone with obvious gratitude.

Severus sat down on the end of the couch and brushed the hair away from his daughter's face.

"What happened, Hope?"

Hope tried to turn away from him, but his hands grasped her face and forced her to look straight into his eyes. He felt her betrayal as her motions ran so close that he could sense them.

"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered.

Severus felt his heart breaking at her betrayal. "Hope, someone tried to kill you. Will you at least let me see what happened?"

Hope looked into his eyes and he let her see his pain. She nodded as much as she could with her head trapped between his hands. He nodded and pushed into her memories.

Severus watched the memories with growing anger. He pulled out and stood up from the sofa so quickly, his daughter jerked away. He hadn't just seen the event, he'd felt the emotions. The fear because she didn't have her wand. It was all his fault.

He turned to her and saw Draco hugging her while she watched him carefully.

"I didn't mean to get in that position, I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "It's not your fault, child." He went over and helped her stand with Draco's help. Motioning for Harry to come over, he shifted the weight off of himself and onto the boy. Hope looked at him with pleading eyes.

"I'm not mad at you, nor will I tell her parents. I merely think you should get some sleep so you have the energy to decorate tomorrow for your ball."

Hope's eyes glistened as she smiled at her father. "Love you…" she muttered tiredly, leaning against Harry.

He smiled. "I love you too, Hope." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, not caring that her friends were in the room. "Let Harry take you to your room."

Hope nodded sleepily as Harry talked to her softly on the way up the stairs. When they were out of earshot, he turned toward the two teens still standing with him. Turning first to Draco, he voiced his concerns over what he'd seen.

"Ginny told Hope that Harry had been with her in the past two weeks. Is it true?"

Draco looked at him as if he were a ghost. "Merlin, no! Harry avoided her every chance he got."

Severus sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Then she's getting even more desperate. You both need to keep an eye on Hope and Harry when they are not together. Do not let them go off by themselves whenever Ginny is near. She's going to hurt Hope or do something to Harry and we won't be able to fix it. The injuries are getting worse each time. Promise me you'll keep your eyes on them?"

Both teens nodded solemnly. Severus nodded to the two teens. "Good, then you two also go up and relax. Our plans for the night have changed."

Hermione and Draco quickly went upstairs. Severus turned back toward the fireplace. He closed his eyes and thought about the new danger his daughter and Harry had to face.

"As if Death Eaters and Voldemort aren't enough…" he muttered, as he spelled off the lights downstairs, before going to turn in himself.

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A/N: Hey Everyone!! I'm so sorry I missed my last deadline, but I have been going nuts getting ready for vacation. I had finals, and paperwork, and packing plus a 30 hour work week, and it was hectic. I'm so sorry!! But I'm posting tonight and my beta is going to post tomorrow night for you and next week so you still get your chapters. :) Love ya'll, review please?   
Kayla


	18. Chaptere Eighteen: Prepare For the Ball

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

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Chapter Eighteen: Preparing for the Ball

Two days later, Hope awoke and sat up with a groan. Looking over at her alarm clock, it read 4:30 A.M. She glanced down at her stomach and saw the bandages that were wrapped tightly. Sighing, she gently edged out of bed and walked toward the bathroom. Wincing, she removed the bandages and sighed.

"Need some painkiller?" Her father asked from the doorway.

Hope turned toward him. "My dress is never going to be comfortable with this on my stomach."

He smiled in sympathy as he gave her two pills and a glass of water. She grabbed them and popped them into her mouth before taking a drink of water and handing it back.

"I'm going to get a shower and get dressed. Can you wake the others up for me?"

Severus nodded. "I'll be back in to rewrap that whenever you get dressed. I'll contact Molly and see if she has any suggestions about your dress."

Hope turned quickly and gasped in pain. "No way. I don't want Ginny knowing anything about it. That'll make her gloat. I will wear my gown tonight without any show as to how it hurts."

Severus smiled at his daughter. "Good. Go get ready."

Hope turned around and turned the water on.

An hour later, everyone was downstairs in the living room, looking tired. Hope was leaning against a wall with a hand protectively guarding her stomach. Hermione was sitting next to Draco on the couch with her head laying on his shoulder. Everyone was waiting on Harry to come downstairs.

"Good Morning, everyone!" He called out as he came downstairs.

Everyone turned to glare at him.

"Must you be so happy?" Hope asked.

Harry stepped closer to her. "Of course. I get to spend the day helping decorate for the most beautiful ball that the wizarding world has ever seen. Plus," he said, stepping even closer until he was invading her space, "I get to do it in the company of the most beautiful girl in the world."

Hope smiled at him. "Save your lines for tonight. We have to get busy if we're going to be back in time for you guys to go shopping and for us to get ready."

Harry titled his head, as if in deep thought. Surprising everyone, he took a step back and led the way to the fireplace. Severus smiled at the dazed look on his daughter's face before making his way to the fireplace. He grabbed the floo powder.

"Hope has opened the wards to anyone who has an invitation to the ball. That requires everyone to have their invitations tonight."

"But, sir. We didn't get invitations." Hermione pointed out.

Hope pushed off the wall with a wince. "I already introduced you guys to the wards. You can come and go as you please."

Everyone nodded. Ready to get started, Hope grabbed a handful of floo powder. Everyone else did the same. Hope went to throw her powder in first, but Severus pulled her back, whispering in her ear.

"The floo does not seem to be your best friend. I would prefer you not tumble into something when it spits you out. Let me go first."

Hope nodded. Severus went forward into the fireplace, threw down his powder and called out, "Collins Manor."

Everyone followed suit and eventually, all were standing in the living room of Hope's house. Looking at all her friends, she saw looks of awe on their faces.

Smiling, she let them glance about in amazement for a few minutes before showing them to the ballroom. With glass doors and synthetic glass floors, the room was a sight to be seen. The chandelier was an antique the Severus said was passed through the family. The windows were from ceiling to floor and could be charmed to show different scenes outside, as well as letting the viewer actually view the outside world.

Hope pulled out her wand and unshrunk the box of decorations that Hermione pulled from her pocket. Hermione started pulling things out.

Hope went over to help, but her father's hand on her shoulder stopped her. Turning around, she rolled her eyes. "What now?"

He raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "I realize that you are excited, but please do remember that you need to take it easy. Your wound could easily reopen and I would hate to ban you from attending your own ball."

He gave her a knowing look as she sighed. She went back to sorting through boxes as she watched her father say something to Harry and Draco. Both nodded as they glanced in Hope's direction. Rolling her eyes, she helped Hermione.

Pulling out some glass moon decorations, she used her wand to levitate them into the air. Hermione used her wand to spell them to stay there until they were taken down. Smiling at each other, they looked at the ceiling. Hope raised her wand and turned the ceiling into a dark midnight blue, which reflected off the glass moons perfectly.

Hermione and Hope continued hanging decorations as the boys worked on setting up the chairs and tables. They had it set up to where the entire ballroom itself was set for dancing and the room off the side would be for conversation and sitting. That was where the snacks and refreshments would be set up.

Around two in the afternoon, the ballroom was glittering in its beauty. Hope called her house elf and kindly asked it to have all the food set out by seven thirty in case anyone arrived early. Holding her stomach against the pain it was now admitting, she turned to gave one last glance to the ballroom.

"It's perfect," she whispered to Hermione. Hermione nodded and together, they made their way to the room where the boys were. They had to laugh. Harry was having problems getting his magic to work against the tables and chairs.

"Oops," Hope muttered, brandishing her wand. She muttered a spell and the chairs that were fighting Harry immediately stilled. "Sorry guys!"

Harry and Draco glared at Hope. "You couldn't have told us hours ago that the furniture fought back. Do you know how many times we've had to repair these stupid glass tables because they wouldn't stay put?!"

Hope laughed. "My parents wanted to be sure that nobody could take them from the house. They're charmed so that any magic other than magic from someone in the Collins line would cause them to come alive, more or less. They're safe now, though," she said as she pushed the white couches around a little bit with her wand. Content with what the boys were doing, she went and sat down on a couch, closing her eyes.

After several more minutes, Harry and Draco sighed as they had the last glass table and the chairs all in place. Hope opened her eyes and moved a few things around with her wand before standing and declaring it perfect. Summoning the dark blue tablecloth from the box by the doorway, she set it on the table where the food would be.

"I believe everything is ready. You boys go ahead and go back to the manor. Remember to be here by six!" Hope cried as they hurried out of the room. Hope banished the box up to her room before turning to Hermione.

"Want to see the bathroom I was telling you about?"

Hermione smiled as she nodded eagerly. Hope led the way up the staircase and pulled open a door on the third floor. It led to a bathroom that was more the size of a bedroom. Hermione pulled open the drawers and found every kind of make up and hair supplies that they could imagine. She turned to Hope in awe.

"The house elves like to make sure everything is stocked. If there is something missing, they'll go get it for me. Understand why I didn't want you to buy any make up now?"

Hermione nodded, still in a trance.

Hope laughed and pulled her forward, shoving her forward into a chair. "Want to know what's better? The house elves got into contact with the lady who used to do my mom's hair, nails, and makeup for big balls. She's coming over."

Hermione gaped. "You're kidding!"

Hope shook her head as she smiled. She opened the door and in walked a girl in her mid thirties. "Hermione, meet Regina."

"Hello, girls." Turning to Hope she smiled sadly. "I knew your mom since I was a little girl. Then when I was a teen, she hired me for help her prepare for a ball. I'm so glad you'll let me do the same for you."

Hope smiled as she sat down. "I'm glad you'd do it on such short notice! We only have three hours, so let's get moving!" She said jokingly. Regina laughed as she pulled out some supplies.

"Okay, let me explain how we are going to do this. We'll start with nails, then move on to hair, then makeup, then dresses, and finally your jewelry."

Hope winced at that. "Must we wear our dresses?"

Hermione looked at Hope in alarm. "Is yours going to be too tight now? It was tight before, but now it could be painful."

Hope shrugged. "I'll be okay. Ginny isn't going to knock me down."

Hermione looked reluctant, but nodded. "We'll put them on right before time to go down. That way we won't have to wear them so long."

Hope sighed and nodded. Finally they began the long process of getting ready.

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A/N: This is being posted by my wonderful beta Nita. I'm currently someone in the Caribbean. :) So she's posting it for me, and next week's also. So review and be nice so I come home from an electronic free vacation to lots of reviews!!


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Back to School Ball

Disclaimer: I only own the plot..and Hope :)

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Chapter Nineteen: Back to School Ball

At five-thirty, Hope and Hermione were standing in front of the mirror as they modeled themselves for each other. Hermione was beautiful in her strapless pink dress. It had a clear covering over the entire dress, with rows of glitter running down diagonally. She had curled her hair and pulled it up into a pink clip. She chose very little makeup, going with only a touch of light pink lip gloss and some glitter on her face and hair to match her dress. She turned to Hope with a strange look on her face.

"You promised me you'd find me the perfect shoes! Tell me you didn't forget."

"I didn't!" She laughed. "I found some shoes in my mom's closet that will go with your dress perfectly."

Twisting with obvious pain, Hope summoned a pair of shoes from several rooms down the hall. As they floated in, Hope set them down on the floor right before Hermione.

"You found glass slippers!" Hermione squealed excitedly. She put the shoes on and twirled happily. Hope smiled at her friend.

"I also found some of my mom's jewelry that I think will go perfectly with the rest of your outfit."

Hermione watched as Hope pulled a silver necklace with a pink rhinestone flower hanging off the chain. There were matching pink rhinestone dangling earrings and a chain bracelet with pink rhinestones.

"Oh, Hope, it's so pretty. Are you sure you don't mind if I wear it?"

Hope smiled at her best friend. "My mom had plenty of jewelry. Trust me, you deserve to wear it."

Hermione smiled and hugged her friend, not missing the gasp of pain. Turning to her friend, she looked carefully at her, trying to find out what to add. Hope was wearing a complex spaghetti strap dress. It was a midnight blue with glittering straps. On both sides, starting at the hip, there began a strand of crystallized moons that curled inward before going back out toward the end of the dress. She had curled her hair and pulled it into a messy bun, before placing moon hair pieces all over her hair. She had on white shoes that wrapped completely around her ankles and were imbedded with diamonds.

Hermione searched through the jewelry, and couldn't seem to find the perfect match. She had found dangling moon earrings, but she couldn't find a necklace or a bracelet. Sighing, she knew what she had to do.

"Hope, you know as well as I do what the best necklace for this dress would be."

Hope eyed Hermione with a glare. "Don't even say it Hermione. I can't wear it."

"Why not!" She exclaimed, frustrated. "You're Harry's date. He'll be offended if you don't wear it."

Hope turned away. "Do you think so? I don't want to make him mad, and I thought if I wore it, he would get mad because we aren't dating."

Hermione shook her head and called a house elf. Asking the thing nicely to go get Hope's necklace from her jewelry box at Snape Manor, she turned back toward the girl.

"I still can't find you a bracelet."

Hope shrugged. "Don't worry about it. The boys are getting corsages I'm sure, and I really don't have to have anything on both wrists."

Hermione nodded. She took one last glance in the mirror and led Hope downstairs. Halfway down, the house elf reappeared and handed Hermione the necklace. Hermione clasped the necklace around Hope's neck and then turned to the house elf, telling it thanks before continuing down the stairs.

Once they reached the bottom, they ran into Severus. Severus looked at the two girls and nodded in approval. "You look wonderful, ladies. The boys are in the ballroom waiting for you."

Hope hugged her father. "Thanks, Dad. For everything."

Severus nodded curtly. "I have secured all rooms from anyone except the four of you entering them. This way, no couples can run off."

Hope nodded again and Hermione pulled on her to get her to come on to the ballroom. Once inside, they saw Harry and Draco standing around in their dress robes, looking extremely handsome. Hermione ran up to Draco, and not knowing custom when entering a ball, hugged him. Draco grimaced and looked toward Hope for help. Hope grabbed Hermione and pulled her back.

"Watch and learn," she whispered in her best friend's ear.

Hope walked toward Harry and held her hand out to him. Harry took her hand and gently kissed it while bowing slightly. He then pulled out a box and presented it to her with another bow.

"Oh, come on!" Hermione said. "The ball hasn't started yet, must we be so formal?"

Everyone in the room winced. Severus had entered the room and heard Hermione's outburst.

"Miss Granger, it is custom. Hope and Draco both come from pureblood families, and this is a custom taught even in half blood and muggleborn households. It's a tradition of respect."

Hermione's face made an 'o' shape as she watched Hope open the box. Inside the box was a gorgeous crystal tiara headband accented with moons and stars. Beside the box was a white corsage made up of two roses. She smiled and kissed Harry on the cheek. Harry took the corsage and placed it on Hope's left wrist, his eyes catching the necklace and smiling.

Hope turned to Hermione with a look and watched as she did the same thing with Draco. Harry and Hope both laughed when she squealed after opening her box, which contained a princess tiara with pink rhinestone flowers, diamonds and pearls, while Draco only winced as he took her corsage that matched Hope's in all aspects, except it was pink, and placed it on her wrist.

Hermione threw her arms around Draco in a huge hug. Hope turned toward Harry, stifling another laugh. "She really doesn't know what she's doing."

Severus was watching from his place with disdain. Knowing custom, Hope went over to her father and allowed him to inspect her date's choices in jewelry. Harry followed behind her, standing with his hand on her back while Severus looked carefully at her tiara before adjusting it on her head a little.

He turned toward Hermione who was slowly catching on and did the same thing. Draco looked embarrassed from how his date was acting, which only caused Hope to laugh yet again.

Finally, they were all ready and the food and drinks were set up. Seven o'clock drew near as the first guest arrived. Opening the door, Severus invited all the Weasley children in. Ginny entered and went straight over to where Hope was standing with Harry. She was wearing a tight, red strapless dress, with crystals glimmering on it. She smiled at the sight of Harry in a tux.

"Hi, Harry. How are you tonight?"

Harry turned toward the voice. "Hello, Ginny. You look nice," he said as he pulled Hope closer to him.

Ginny was furious at seeing Harry's arm around Hope. She glared at the girl and stepped closer. "I see you still haven't learned your lesson."

Harry placed himself in between the two girls. "Ginny, you are a guest in Hope's home tonight. If you don't take two steps back, I will personally find someone who will escort you away from here."

Ginny glared and threw her head of red curls back as she turned and walked away. She found some guy that Draco had invited and asked him to join her on the dance floor.

Harry turned toward Hope and took her hand. "Let's go dance. I didn't ask to be your date so we could stand around all night."

Hope followed Harry out onto the dance floor and smiled. They bowed/curtsied as the song started.

They danced for several hours, taking breaks only to get a drink and cool off. Finally, Hope dragged Harry around to check on the other guests. After all, she was hosting the ball.

Harry followed her as she talked with every person who had come. She even stopped to talk with Ginny and her date, smiling the whole time.

After that, Hope led Harry back into the sitting area, which was void of people. Closing the glass doors to block some of the sound, she sat on a couch and placed her hands across her stomach.

Harry sat next to her and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Hope."

Hope looked at him quizzically. "For what?"

"For making you dance so long."

Hope laughed. "It wasn't the dancing. Not completely anyway. I had fun. I just needed a break. The dress is too tight and its pressing against the gash, making it extremely irritated."

Harry nodded and took her hand. "I have something else for you, you know."

Hope looked at him, questions in her eyes.

Harry reached in his pocket and took out a long slender box. Opening it, he revealed a chain bracelet with a single moon. Her initials were carved into it.

Hope smiled at Harry and kissed him, taking him by surprise. When she pulled away, she immediately put her hand back at her stomach while letting the pain show on her face. Harry slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.

"You know, Severus probably has something you can take for that."

Hope shrugged. "I have to get used to it. School starts tomorrow, well, technically today," she said, with a glance at her watch that read 12:04. "I'll have to deal with it then."

Hope and Harry sat and talked for a few more minutes. Finally, Severus came in and informed them that guests were beginning to leave, and Hope needed to be there to see them off. Hope sighed and stood with Harry's help and a sharp intake of breath. Severus came over and slipped something in her hand.

Hope looked down and swallowed the two pills instantly. Following him through the door, she shook hands and hugged and talked with people for the next hour and a half. Finally, when everyone was gone, she collapsed on the couch again while Harry and her brother took down the decorations that the house elves wouldn't do.

"Wow, that was a success," Hermione said excitedly as she came into the room. "Everyone said they had fun."

Hope eyed the girl tiredly. "Hermione, how you have this much energy left is beyond me. I, however, am exhausted."

Hermione grinned at Hope. "Didn't you have fun, though? I saw you and Harry tonight."

Hope smiled. "I had fun. Look at what Harry got me," she said, showing Hermione her bracelet.

"Wow, that's awesome!"

Hope smiled and shushed her as the boys reentered the room. "The house elves, well, rather this one, called Mipsy, shooed us out and said to go to bed, they would take care of it. Said they are not paid to watch us do the work."

Hope laughed. "That's Mipsy for you. While I was trying to get this place fixed up, she was all over the place, saying she would do it. I'm glad my parents paid them though; otherwise, I would've felt bad for them having to stay here for twelve years with nobody entering the house."

Hermione nodded. They sat and talked for awhile before getting up and going to bed. Tomorrow was the end of the best summer any of them had ever had.

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A/n: Once again, my wonderful beta Nita is posting this. Review:)  
Kayla


	20. Chapter Twenty: Back to Hogwarts

Disclaimer: Don't own it, never have, never will.

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Chapter Twenty: Back to Hogwarts

Hope awoke to someone shaking her. She grumbled and rolled over.

"Oh, come on, Hope. School hasn't even started and you won't get up. How is this a way to start the school year?"

Hope looked up into Hermione's face and growled. "What in Merlin's name are you waking me up for?"

Hermione shrugged. "Severus said since nobody packed last night except me, I had to wake up everyone and tell them that breakfast is ready, and then everyone has to pack because we have to be at the train station by noon."

Hope grumbled as she got out of bed and made her way downstairs. She knew Hermione was laughing at the fact she was wearing her pajamas still, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

She sat at the table beside Harry and waited for the food to arrive. Everyone had decided to stay at the manor last night, so nobody was packed and ready to go. Hermione, the only exception, had packed before the ball, claiming to know that waiting would prove to be a mistake.

After eating, everyone made their way up to their rooms. Using her wand, Hope packed everything she was taking with her in her trunk. She walked over to her desk and climbed up onto a chair to reach something hidden behind a trap door in her wall.

She pulled out a tiny photo book, one that had three pictures in it. One of them was a picture she had found at the manor while cleaning it up. It was a picture of her parents holding her as a baby outside in the snow with a 'Happy Christmas' sign in the backround. The second picture was one of her adoptive parents, all gathered around a Christmas tree, with her sitting on the floor holding up a present. The last picture was from this past Christmas, with Severus and Draco. She smiled as she placed it carefully on the top of her trunk.

She made her way downstairs, levitating her trunk behind her. She set it down and saw her father carrying a big bag.

"Lesson plans?" She asked him.

He glared at her. "To think, I got stuck with teenagers all summer long, now I have to go and try to get important information through their extremely thick skulls," he said, tapping his hand against her head as he passed her.

"Draco, Harry, hurry up!"

Hope locked eyes with her father as he turned around. "This year is going to be different, isn't it?"

He sighed. "It is. Seamus keeps informing the order that there are many more people in Slytherin whom have made the choice to join ranks with Voldemort. He also says that there is a spy that nobody knows the identity of except for Voldemort."

Hope narrowed her eyes. "Let me guess, it's someone close to us?"

Severus sighed. "It seems like it, Hope. You all need to be very careful."

Hope shook her head. "I won't punish my friends because one of them is an idiot. Maybe we can still save them, like we did Seamus."

Severus shrugged. "Time will tell. All we know now is that this person is somehow giving information to the Dark Lord, information not many people knew. Like your self healing."

Hope sighed. "I guess we'll watch what we say. Just to keep other people safe. Maybe I can come up with a plan to figure out who it is."

Severus nodded his thanks as the other two boys hurried downstairs.

"Dad, we're still going to spend weekends down with you, like we talked about, right?" Draco asked as he set his trunk next to his sister's.

Severus nodded. "If you want to. I'm not going to force you."

Everyone nodded. Sadly, everyone picked up their trunks and grabbed the portkey that Severus held out. A moment later, they were on the platform.

Hope sat in a compartment with Harry, Hermione and Draco, and stared out the window. She felt lost. The school year was going to be intense. Training for all four of them every night, constantly battling death eaters, trying to find a way to kill Voldemort. Plus, it was their Newt year and Hermione was going to be hammering them all to study every available moment.

Hope couldn't even imagine how different it was. A year and a half ago, she didn't even know about magic, and now she was the most powerful witch in existence.

She felt someone touch her shoulder and turned around to smile at Harry.

"You okay?"

Hope thought for a moment. "Are any of us ready for this? We're just teenagers, and we have to fight the biggest evil the wizarding world has ever seen. How are we going to do this?"

Hermione smiled. "We're going to stick together. No more fighting, it only makes us weaker. We have to stay united. We have to stay focused, but not loose sight of what we are fighting for. We want to be free, right? Well, the sooner Voldemort and his followers are gone, the sooner we can live our lives without looking over our shoulders. It's going to be hard, but we'll make it, because we all have each other."

Hope smiled at her best friend. All of them felt scared, but she was right. They would win, because they had what Voldemort couldn't kill; True friendship.

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A/N: Sorry it's late!! So much is going on, I just completely forgot to post. Sorry!! But it 's only two days late, that counts right:S I hope you guys like it. If I get it to my beta in time to have her read it and fix it, then I should post the first chapter of the next part of the series on Friday. At least I hope.  
For those who haven't already joined, my chapter was posted on my group on Wednesday, and will be from now on, so if you don't want to wait, you can always join that. It's on my homepage. :)


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